Merging Worlds
by QueenStrata
Summary: Crossover: RW and YST. The Masho appear in the Dynasty, confusing the Warlords just as they are forced to fight again. This time, however, the fight isn’t for the Mortal Realm, but for the Dynasty…and their lives.
1. In Which Warlords Argue

**Disclaimer: I hope you know the drill by now. If I owned them, why would I be writing this?**

**Warnings: um…not much. For the entire fic, I mean. Just a little bit of language, most likely in the chapters I wrote.**

**A/N: *waves* Hey, all. QueenStrata here. I'm…a bit new to Ronin Warriors fiction. Well, that is to say, I'm a bit new to _writing_ it. Or posting it. Anyway, I started writing RW fics about five years ago…when I was eleven. So, those things were absolute crap, and so Mary Sue filled…. I keep them close by to laugh at. Trust me, it's funny. On the other hand, I've been writing in the Harry Potter fandom for about two…two and a half years. Something like that. Suffice it to say that, while my fics do tend to run rampant with OCs that hook up with canon characters, I've improved a _lot_ since then, and I truly believe my Ronin fics are capable of being shown on-line.**

**Anyway. A few notes on the entire fic. First off, every odd-numbered chapter was written by my friend, who I will call Bailey-chan (who, by the way, has never attempted to really write fanfiction in her life). The evens were written by me. As such, you'll probably notice quite a few differences in the our styles of writing. The main thing is that she tends to be bigger on descriptions than I am. Yes, we have created a bunch of OCs. The good thing? Talpa's not in it. The bad thing? Two of the characters are (loosely) based off us. Also, Bailey-chan has never read a Ronin fic…wait, she's read two, but they were both one-shots and don't really count…and I haven't really read any Ronin fics for a good four years, until about a month ago, and then that was only fics I'd read before and already knew were good, so if you recognize anything from any other fic you've read, it's an accident, and we both apologize. ^^;**

**Oh, yes, the crossover thing. Yes, this does work. While I haven't done a lot of research, I am disturbingly obsessed with the theory of parallel dimensions. Point made? I hope so. Also, this is mainly Warlord-centric. What can I say? Bad guys rule. ^-^ **

**Some of this is rather…oddly humorous. I don't know. We're both weird. Trust me. And the entire fic (well, except the epilogue…stupid Bailey-chan) is already finished, it just needs to be typed up. So, I will update this…whenever I feel like. However, it's most likely that there will be only about a week or two between updates, and the chapters _will_** **be posted anywhere between Friday morning and Saturday morning. **

**A note about the Dynasty: it now looks a lot like the Mortal Realm, wildlife and all. For purposes of this fic, Talpa's evil influence changed it. Now he's gone, it's returning to the way it should be. This is never mentioned in the fic, however, which is why I put it here.**

**Now onwards! Before I ramble even more.**

**Oh, except…this fic is already completed, as noted before. It's…fifteen chapters long. Possibly with an epilogue, if I ever stop writing my _other_** **Ronin fic to write it. ^^;**

Thoughts are in _italics_.

In the rare occasion that someone should actually speak in Japanese, what they said will be written in English. Or…if you didn't get that. Instead of "Nihongo," it would be 'Japanese.' 

_Chapter One: In Which Warlords Argue_

            "Dais, go get it!"

            "Me? You threw it!"

            "So?"

            "So you go get it!"

            "No!"

            "_CALE!"_

            "Nope. I got it last time. I'm staying right here."

            "Fine…"

            Playing Frisbee™, the perfect afternoon activity when you have nothing to do and an eternity to do it in. Unfortunately, there was no Frisbee playing course in the Dynasty, and only Sekhmet took to it like a fish to water. He was thrilled at the prospect of developing his one true talent. Cale and Dais spent the majority of their time arguing over who had to retrieve the unpredictable red disc. With a satisfied grin for once again getting the best of Dais, Cale laid down in a sunny patch of grass, stretching as he watched the white-haired man ramble through the forest, still mumbling with his face pressed downward. Sekhmet sat down beside Cale, who was now chewing contently on a blade of grass.

            Cale, you look just like a cow chewing on its cud!" Sekhmet's uproarious laughter ceased abruptly with a furious glare from Cale, who looked more like a raging bull now.

            In apology, Sekhmet inched away until a busy ant-march caught his attention.

            "Look, Cale! The little black ants are carrying a big red ant. I bet they beat it in battle and are going to eat it!"(1)

            "Exciting," Cale said absently.

            "That's supposed to be a sign. Not that I'm superstitious or anything. But I think it means that we are going to hurt or kill someone like us. Interesting, huh."

            Cale let Sekhmet babble on, being too much in thought to comment on the green-haired boy's "miraculous" discovery.

            A few yards away in the dark forest, Dais was still searching and muttering words that definitely didn't compliment his two friends waiting in the field.

            _Where is that stupid Frisbee™? I can't believe Cale lost it _again_, and isn't even going to help me find it!_

            Staggering on, he startled two squirrels, who chattered at him reproachfully as they scampered away. Still no Frisbee™.

            Just then, he caught sight of Sekhmet stumbling through the woods.

            _Well, at least someone is helping me._

            "Sekhmet," he called, "did you find it yet?"

            His reaction surprised Dais completely. Whipping around and staring straight at Dais, he yelled loudly in Japanese.

            "Sek, is something wrong?"

            Now it was the armored boy's turn to be surprised.

            "Rajura, how have you to come here?" Sekhmet asked slowly, switching to broken English.

            "_Rajura_? Sek, are you feeling alright?"

            "Why do you call me 'Sek'? And why do you speak in English? You know I can not speak in it well yet."

            Dais was really confused now.

            "Wait a minute," he demanded, throwing his hands up. "Just back up. Why did you call me Rajura?"

            "That is your name."

            "Um…we'll get to that later. Why can't you speak English? Did you hit your head or something?"

            "No. Wait. Let me start from the beginning. I was running from the strange wind tunnel. I called for you and the others, but you were not there. When I woke up, I was here. We are still in the Youjakai, no?"

            "Huh? This is called the Dynasty," Dais paused. "Are you sure your name's not Sekhmet?" he asked hopefully.

            "My name is Naaza."

            "I have a friend who looks just like you. That's why I thought you were him. But you're obviously not. And you thought I was someone named Rajura. None of this makes any sense!"

            _This is amazing_, Dais thought quickly. _How can he look just like Sek, right down to… Wait._

"Your armor! It's exactly like Sekhmet's! And that's just…just impossible!"

            Naaza frowned in confusion.

            "I am an ex-Masho. Demon General, in your language."

            "Demon General? Is that something like a Warlord? I used to be one too then. How—"

            But Dais never got a chance to finish. At that moment, two figures came charging through the woods straight at him. They were yelling in Japanese as well.

            Dais could only stare as the rushing figures came into view. He recognized Cale and a mirror-like image of himself. They were so alike, their appearances exact, but somehow, Dais knew that they were also very different.

            'No, wait!' he heard Naaza shout.

            Cale and his clone instantly stopped and stared intently at Dais, apparently in complete shock. The feeling was mutual.(2)

            "Cale…," Dais said hesitantly, then realized that this was not Cale any more than Naaza was Sekhmet. "Who are you?" he decided to ask instead.

            "What kind of ghost are you? What are you doing in the Youjakai?" the Cale-like man demanded.

            "I'm Dais," he began slowly, "and I was just talking to Sek—ah, Naaza about that. Let me guess. Your name's not Cale."

            "Cale? No, I am Anubisu."

            "And you must be Rajura."

            Rajura's eyes narrowed. "How do you know my name?" he asked, stepping forward with a hand on his bushigo.(3)

            "Wait!" Naaza moved between them. "I found him and thought he was you. I called him Rajura."

            "Look, guys." Dais was eager to find some answers. "How 'bout you come with me to meet my friends Cale and Sekhmet and we'll try to figure this whole thing out, okay?"

            The three friends talked together rapidly in Japanese.

            "I find it really hard to believe that me, Cale, and Sek all have identical Japanese twins and didn't even know it," Dais muttered to himself.

            Finally, Anubisu said, "We will come."

            Dais smiled grimly and turned back towards the field, where he knew two boys, one green-haired, the other blue, were waiting for him to return.

            "So much for our Frisbee™ game," he laughed wryly to himself.

**A/N: *laughs* Not exactly the brightest crayons in the box, our guys. Dais not speaking Japanese. Being the Ronin version, he and the rest all speak English. Perfectly. And Japanese doesn't exist. Or something. At least, that's our take. For this fic.**

**By the way…my friend and I, we actually _started_ writing it in seventh grade. This is just a rewrite, but it had no real changes. At all. Well, except, back then, she had Naaza talking in English perfect, despite him saying he couldn't speak it well yet. ^^; We had a good laugh over that part….**

**(1) Ah, neither of us are really sure if ants do that. I think they all eat each other, but…. I don't know. _Bailey-chan_: Yes, they do. _QueenStrata:_ …OK, guess they do.**

**(2) A funny note: Bailey-chan can't spell. She put mutural. _Bailey-chan_: *glares and elbows QueenStrata* Why'd you tell them that? I'm still at large with the spellcheck police! Remember? _QueenStrata:_ Ah…oops. Sorry.**

**(3) Erk. Bushigo. According to this one site, Dais' weapon is called a bushigo. It was apparently used as a ladder, though. Here's a link: (but since this is on FF.net, and they don't let you do the links, take out the spaces) h t t p : / / w w w . m e m b e r s . t r i p o d . c o m / s t a r _ t r o o p e r 0 /**

**One final note: here's to hoping I don't have to make fun of my chapter too. _Bailey-chan_: Just leave that to me! _QueenStrata_: Gee, thanks.**

**Oh, no, one other. Does Frisbee need a ™? Prolly not when someone's sayin or thinking it…prolly not at all, but…well. ^^;**


	2. In Which They Meet the Bad Guys

**Disclaimer: See first chapter.**

**Warnings: nothin**

**A/N: Here we are at chapter two! Um…it's boring. Very boring. I mean, I wrote it myself, and I say it's boring. Stupid chapter. Don't worry, it gets better. I think. I haven't read it in a couple months though, so…. -_- Um. I covered pretty much everything I needed to last chapter, so let's just get straight into it. Onwards!**

_Chapter Two: In Which They Meet the Bad Guys_

            "So you're saying that you were in this Youjakai place, when this tornado appeared, picked you all up, and dumped you into that forest?" Cale asked, rather effectively summing up the babble from the Masho. "And you can't speak English well," he continued to Naaza, who nodded. "Okay. That was really irrelevant. At least you can speak English at all.

            "Anyway, I'm assuming we're in the Dynasty, seeing as no weird tornado-thing carried us anywhere."

            "Then what were you in the forest for?" Rajura asked Dais curiously.

            "We were playing Frisbee™," Dais replied, glaring furiously at Cale. "Cale threw it past me, and then dumb and dumber sent me to retrieve it."

            Dais' glare intensified, causing Cale to wince. Sekhmet giggled furiously until Cale smacked him in the back of his head, at which point he decided it would be better for his health if he shut up. He glared at Cale for a second, rubbing his head, before realizing Cale was ignoring him as usual. He pouted.

            "Anyway," Rajura said, gaining the attention of everyone, "who do you suppose might have done this?"

            "And why?" Naaza added.

            "That's just the problem—we can't figure it out. I thought we'd gotten rid of all the would-be emperors in the Dynasty," Dais replied with a sigh. "Unless Talpa somehow managed to return."

            "But Wildfire killed him," Cale pointed out.

            "Who are Talpa and Wildfire?" Anubisu asked suddenly, confusion etched on his face.

            "Talpa's the former floating head," Sekhmet announced with another giggle. "And Wildfire's the red one."

            "Arago and Rekka no Ryou(1)," Rajura muttered.

            "At least Wildfire doesn't really do the name game," Sekhmet said thoughtfully. "We can't be very confused on that point."

            "Unless we see both of them together," Anubisu grumbled. "…Perhaps it would be best if we gave each other their names and titles."

            "You start. I'm still sick of the Ronins," Dais muttered in return.

            "Well, we don't call them Ronins," Anubisu began, "We call them the Samurai Troopers. The leader is Sanada Ryou, bearer of Rekka and Kikotei. Kikotei is the white armor. His tiger is Byakuen. Date Seiji bears Korin, the green armor. Mori Shin bears Suiko, the light blue armor. Shuu Rei Fuan bears Kongo, the orange armor. Hashiba Touma bears Tenku, the dark blue armor.

            "As for us, when under the control of Arago, I was called the Yami Masho, Naaza was the Doku Masho, Rajura was the Gen Masho, and Kayura was called the Demon Priestess(2)." Anubisu paused suddenly, taking a deep breath. "Shuten Doji was the Oni Masho, fallen when freeing Kayura.

            "The gray tiger that appears when Rekka bears Kikotei is Kokuen'Oh. The monk was Kaosu; his staff is the Shakujo. The two mortals that followed the Troopers around were Yamano Jun and Yagju Nasuti.

            "Your turn."

            "Er…," was all Dais could come up with.

            "_I'll _do it," Sekhmet said suddenly with a roll of his eyes. "In your order. Sanada Ryo bears Wildfire and Inferno. His tiger is White Blaze. The green one is Date Sage of Halo. The light blue one is Mouri Cye of Torrent. The orange one is Rei Fuan Kento of Hardrock. The dark blue one is Hashiba Rowen of Strata. Under Talpa, Cale was the Warlord of Corruption, I was the Warlod of Venom, Dais was the Warlord of Illusion, and Kayura didn't really have a title. The man you call Shuten was Anubis, the Warlord of Cruelty. The other tiger was Black Blaze. The monk was the Ancient one, but there was no special name for his staff. The boy was Yamano Yuli, and the girl was Coji Mia."(3)

            "How did you remember the order of that?" Cale asked Sekhmet in amazement.

            "Good memory," Sekhmet shrugged as if it wasn't important. "But maybe we should return to the castle? Kayura will want to hear of this."

            "That would be a good idea," Rajura agree, standing. "Our Kayura may be there as well."

            "I am sure she is," a disembodied voice stated. "But I can guarantee that you won't be there."

            Then ten armored people appeared before them, each one carrying a struggling form. It took the ex-Masho and ex-Warlords only seconds to realize that the struggling forms were nine of the combined Ronins and Troopers, each wearing their subarmor. It was either Strata or Tenku that was missing, and a black-haired girl seemed to have taken his place. She was wearing some sort of silver armor, an empty scabbard hanging on either side of her waist.

            "Who are you?" Cale snapped at the people, growling. It seemed almost as if he had become the leader of them all. "Let them go!"

            The man holding the girl stepped forward. "We," he said, "are the soon-to-be rules of the Dynasty and Youjakai. I am Tobraea, bearer of the armor of Uranus."

            He made a slight, mocking bow as best he could while holding the girl. A man in identical armor laughed, bowing as well.

            "The same person," Sekhmet muttered as if it wasn't obvious. "Even the name."

            "Shut up, Sek," Dais ordered as a pair of people in turquoise armors bowed as well.

            "Mizuchaki, bearers of Neptune."

            He next pair had light gray armors.

            "Tsukishimo, bearers of Saturn."

            Then there was a pair in dark gray armor.

            "Ashimusoka of Pluto."

            And the final two in brown—

            "Yokeuchi of Jupiter."

            Sekhmet stared at the two bearers of Jupiter, surprised. Their voices were definitely female, yet they were holding onto Hardrock and Kongo with seemingly no trouble.

            "We have a little proposition to make," Tobraea began once the introductions were completed. "Give us control of both the Dynasty and the Youjakai, and these children, with the exception of this girl, will be returned to their homes. Don't, and we will let them live…elsewhere."

            Naaza growled, taking a step forward threateningly before being stopped by Sekhmet, and Dais looked about to snap a reply back, but never got the chance.

            "Let Denice go!"

            Everyone looked in the direction the voice had come from. A white-winged girl was floating in midair, a bronze bow knocked in the direction of Tobraea. Cale absently wondered what her arrow could do against the man's mystical armor.

            "Come to save your other half?" the man yelled to her. "I will not let her go this time!"

            Then the girl let her arrow fly forward, piercing Tobraea's armor at his shoulder. With a surprised gasp, he dropped the one girl he was holding. She stumbled forward until Sekhmet suddenly jumped forward to help her.

            "You answer!" Tobraea snapped, facing them once again.

            "We will die before we give you either," Cale growled back.

            "Then they will go in our dungeons!" Tobraea gestured to the others, and they all disappeared.

            "Here, let me help you with that," Sekhmet muttered, turning to the girl Tobraea had been holding and pulling of her gag.

            "Thanks," she muttered. "My hands are tied, though. Do you think you could…?"

            "Sure," Sekhmet shrugged, spinning her around before fumbling with the knot.

            The girl nodded her thanks and then walked over to the other girl, who had just landed in front of Cale. The two whispered to each other for a minute before the un-winged girl suddenly sprouted a pair of feathery black wings and took off.

            "Where's she going?" Sekhmet asked.

            "To get her katanas and the other Ronin," the white-winged girl replied. "I believe he was left at the ruins of our village, barely alive. Those men you just met believe he's dead."

            "So Strata—" Dais began, alarmed, but was cut off.

            "No. He will live. But we must go to your castle, as that is where he will be taken, and that is where I must heal him. I believe you can teleport there?"

            "We can," Cale agreed. "We will meet you there?"

            "Yes. I will fly as fast as I can." So saying, she immediately spread her wings and took off.

            The Masho and Warlords shared bemused glances before blinking out of existence.

**A/N: Wow. This chapter sucked. *laughs* Well, that is to say, it's boring. As hell. Even meeting Tobreae was boring. Damn, this is pathetic. ^-^ Ah…yes. Sekhmet lovers? Don't worry. I love Sekhy too. ^-^ Actually, I love them all, but anyway. He'll be better later in the fic. Really. I mean it. …I think.**

**Oh. An amusing note. Sometimes, I can be a real idiot. -_- After the first time I wrote Tobreae's name, I started spelling it Todreae instead. Yes, I've got problems. But only sometimes. (And, Nell, since I _know_ you're reading this, DON'T SAY IT!)**

**Last thing. The names of the bad guys here…I came up with them. Yes, I know they're weird. Anyway. I…based them off of Japanese words (at least, as far as I can tell, I did…you can only trust an on-line dictionary so much), two for each person. However, I, being the occasional idiot I am, didn't put down _which_ words I used, so now I forget. -_-;**

**(1) For simplicity. Ryo from the Troopers will have a u at the end of his name, to tell the two of them apart. It's either that or…well…I don't know. Something.**

**(2) Um…I'm not exactly sure if she was called that. ^^; But it sounds neat.**

**(3) Has anyone else fallen asleep yet? *raises hand* Oh, and another note…I did the last names first, the Japanese way. Why? Because Anubisu started, and, being Japanese, he did it the Japanese way. Make sense? Good. I knew you were smarter than I'm pretending you are. ^-^ Oh, yes, and you'll have noticed I spelled Cye/Shin's last name two different ways. For some reason, I tend to spell Shin's name "Mori" but Cye's name "Mouri." *shrugs* Don't ask me why, I don't really know.**

**Thanks to: **

Nell-**…Shut up. That one chapter of STT doesn't count for anything.**

Harry2-** _B-c_: Thanks. ^-^ Oh, and don't worry, I'm sure we won't kill each other. We're the bestest best friends ever! *huggles Bailey-chan* _Bailey-chan:_ o.O *pushes QS off her chair* _QS:_ Ow! Hey! *glares at Bailey-chan* _B-c: _*looks innocent* _QS:_ …Meh. Okay, we won't _kill_** **each other, but don't be surprised if I end up in the hospital or something. -_-;**

Mark- **It gets better…but thanks for reviewing! ^-^ *huggles***


	3. In Which Kayura Talks a Lot

**Disclaimer: Don't own them, wish I did. It's the same story for us all, I know.**

**Warnings: um. Kayura?**

A/N: Has anyone else noticed that Sekhmet seems to enjoy pretending he's an idiot? ^^; I don't know why, but it just seems the right way to write him. Usually. Anyway. Be prepared for a bit of back-story…and for some shortness. And…uh…yeah. That's about it. ^^; I'll just…start the chapter now….

**~*~** means a change in POV

_Chapter Three: In Which Kayura Talks a Lot_

          A piercing scream broke the peaceful silence of the Dynasty. In the air, the white-winged girl heard it and doubled her speed until she appeared as only a bronze-gold streak racing across the sky. Her route to the castle was direct, as straight as the arrows she bore on her back. Already the gray walls loomed near, signaling that she was close.

**~*~**

          Frustrated to the point of explosion, Cale covered his ears and yelled for Sekhmet to shut up. Sekhmet's screams turned to a mournful blubbering.

          "_What_ are you _doing_? I think I must be _deaf_ by now!" Cale, held back by a grinning Dais, struggled to free himself and pound Sekhmet into the ground.

          "Not only that, but everyone in a 20-mile radius must know we're here," Rajura commented softly.

          The ex-Masho and ex-Warlords looked uneasily at each other.

          "What was wrong, Sekhmet?" asked Naaza, taking pity on his other half.

          "Someone let out my snakes!" Sekhmet wailed, "And  I stepped on one when we teleported here.

          Dais and Rajura chuckled, Cale groaned, Naaza sighed, and Anubisu shook his head.

          "And I thought they were amusing with only three."

          At the sound of the voice, the six ex-evil-warriors(1) straightened and reached for their weapons(2). They stood ready to fight within seconds.

          "Don't bother," the voice mocked them. Visible signs of relief could be seen by all when Kayura came into view.

          "Kayura, I wish you'd quit that sneaking-behind-us crap," Dais growled.

          Kayura smiled. "Thanks for the compliment. You must be Dais. Rajura knows better than to talk to me like that."

          Behind her, another Kayura materialized from the darkness.

          "Wow, they're twins! I feel like I have double vision or something!" Sekhmet exclaimed.

          "How observant," one of the Kayuras commented, walking over to the blushing boy.

          Dais and Rajura glared at the embarrassed Sekhmet and approached the other Kayura, who began to talk quickly in Japanese, apparently yelling at Rajura. Cale looked out the window wistfully, and then sighed when he saw only gray sky.

          Kayura glanced at him. "She'll be here soon."

          Surprised, Cale stuttered, "How did—"

          "We know the whole story," Kayura brushed her hand as if to brush away his question. "Actually, we know even more than you about the Nitenshi."(3)

          "The Nitenshi?" Rajura asked.

          Kayura rolled her eyes. "Two girls; one in silver, the other bronze. They are bound together by deep magic that I can't explain. I first met them many years ago. I was sent by Talpa to destroy the village where Denice of the Silver Armor(4) lived. We fought hard and long until we were both wounded badly. Then, using the last of her strength, Denice blew on a small horn and a piece of the sky broke open. In a white light, a warrior in bronze armor flew down to Denice. She reached out to touch her and there was a blast of brilliant light. I was blinded until the light slowly dimmed. When I opened my eyes, Denice had been healed and the girl in bronze was lying on the ground, exhausted. I knew then that this girl had the power to heal, but that it used upper her own strength in the process—her weakness. But I couldn't fight Denice now that she was back to her full power and I was still hurt. I teleported back to Talpa to report what had happened. He was angered at my failure but did not command me to go back. To my knowledge, Talpa has never gone back to the land protected by the Nitenshi."

          "Meanwhile," the other Kayura broke in, "I was on the same quest, sent by Arago. I was able to defeat the village, since Amanda of the Bronze Armor was in your dimension."

          "Wow. What a story," Cale murmured.

          "Yes. They are strong and must help us defeat Tobraea and his warriors," Kayura agreed.

          "If I'm on your side."

          Everyone turned to face a white-winged girl hovering in the open doorway. Without another word, her wings folded and disappeared, allowing her to drop to the ground. Walking forward, she stared at the two Kayuras with obvious distrust and suspicion.

          "You are on our side now. That is, if you wish to defeat Tobraea," a Kayura said after a long pause.

          The girl turned to the others, but her eyes lingered on Cale as she spoke(5). "My people were killed, my village burned, my family slaughtered. Because of both Arago and Talpa, I have nothing left. Except my other half, Denice. How can I trust you?"

          The ex-Masho and Warlord looked down, not knowing what to say.

          Suddenly Cale, with a strangely somber and sad face, looked up and strode forward. With a hand placed on each of her shoulders, he stared into her eyes. "I will fight with you," he whispered.

          Slowly, a smile spread to her face. "Yes. We will fight together. We must, to save this world."

          "More visitors," one of the Kayuras hissed.

          With almost the same movements as Amanda, another girl alighted onto the ground and walked into the castle. A motionless body lay in her arms.

**A/N: (insert dramatic background music here) Cheesy Announcer Guy: It appears as if the Silver Warrior has finally arrived. But what is this? Strata, motionless? Is he even alive? What will become of our— *WHAP* CAG: x_x *QueenStrata appears, holding a large frying pan* Hmph. Sorry about the cheesy announcer guy. I don't know _where_** **he came from. *looks down at the motionless body on the floor, kicks it* Er…I think I hit him a bit too hard. *kicks the CAG again* Oh well. *shrugs* Wasn't that an interesting story Kayura told? Denice kicks butt. *cackles evilly* But then…well, nevermind. Hope you liked the chapter. ^-^ I kept getting these little images of how _I_ would have written it while I was typing this up. *giggles* Tis…amusing. And not so…er…sappy-ish? Actually, I don't know how to term that. *sighs* QS is having a…er…well, it begins with L. Erm. Nevermind. Anywhoo. Next week: my chapter! Wee! I like typing up my chapters better. I can figure out where all of the sentences go. ^^;**

(1) Just for a change of wording, ya know? Besides, typing ex-Masho and ex-Warlords over and over again is a pain in the ass. I never did like the M's.

**(2) Something just occurred to me. Why were they already in full armor? Don't they usually walk around in subarmor? …Ah, well, better safe than sorry, right?**

**(3) Nitenshi. Like Bailey-chan's word? Anyway, "Ni"…I think means "two" in Japanese, and "Tenshi" means "angel." So Nitenshi is "two-angel." Yeah.**

**(4) Now, don't get confused. This isn't to say that her armor is a mystical armor like the Warlords and Co., it's just an easy way to identify them.**

**(5) But can you really blame her? ^-^**

**Thanks to:**

bob- **Hi, Nell. Thanks for the compliment. Next time, leave a semi-normal review? Or, if not, at least an _amusing_** **one?**

Harry2- ***cackles* You got the idea. ^-^ And don't worry, it's already finished! Er…just…not already posted. ^^; _B-c: _*pokes QS* You have most of the chapters typed up, why do you need this stupid once a week rule? _QS: _…Resisting urge to insult myself. Resisting urge to insult myself….  Because we want reviews, damn it! We won't get any if I post once a day…or them all in one day. _B-c: _We don't get any anyway. _QS: _…Shut up.**

Razberry- **Wee! Finally! A different reviewer! *glomps* Haha, I know what you mean about the Warlords. *huggles them all* I gots little chibi Warlords on the computer. ^-^ I just forget what site I got them off of. ^^; It may have been Studio Bent…. Or not. Erk. Well, if you want me to find it for you, just ask. *loves chibi Warlords* Oh, but have you seen Amanda Swiftgold's site? I think she's got all the piccies of the chibi Warlords up there. (If you haven't, it's just amandaswiftgold.com…with a www. At the front.) Um…yes. Anyway. *looks at rest of review* Why, yes, I _did_** **get my name from the Smurf, how could you tell? ^^ Rowen always was my favorite. And, let's face it, Queen(insert any other Ronin armor name) just doesn't have the same ring to it, you know? *huggles her imaginary Rowen* 33333 And hold your horses on MSB! I still hafta get done _Scelus Immortalis_ and…er…*checks her update order* two other Ronin fics and…scratch that, _three_ other Ronin fics, and _Time Waits For No One_. And I'm sick. I can't even swallow! Or talk! *is in pain* *sighs* But don't worry, I'll get back to MSB…eventually. I take it you don't have a yahoo name? Or that you've never even considered going to my deadjournal, the link to which is on the main page of my site? I post a lot of stuff about my fics on those things, you know. You can even get some sneak previews of my new fics! Um…yes, this has gone on long enough. I'm off! 'Cept…on the review for _Just Tom_, I meant to ask you how you got James' _age_, not his name. ^^;**


	4. In Which Denice and Amanda Explain…Stuff

**Disclaimer: …You know.**

**Warnings: Rowen says hell…twice. Bad Rowen. ^^;**

**A/N: A bit more backstory…. If I remember correctly, things should be picking up in the next chapter. ^^ Um…not much to say…. *shrugs* Enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter Four: In Which Denice and Amanda Explain…Stuff 

            "Lead us to the closest room with a bed," she instructed without preamble. "It will not do for him to lay on this floor."

            One of the Kayuras nodded immediately, turning on her heel and leading the way, lights flaring on ahead of her. The two winged girls followed on her heels.

            "Here," Kayura said. She threw open a door and everyone trooped into the lavishly furnished room. After placing the unconscious boy on the bed, the black-haired girl spun around to face Kayura.

            "You have no amulet," she stated.

            "What?" Kayura replied blankly, looking down at her chest. "Oh, of course! That amulet was possessed by a nether spirit until Wildfire destroyed it. That is what kept me under Talpa's control. I would not have attacked your village otherwise."

            The girl nodded, evidently accepting the explanation. There was a moment of silence.

            "Uh…," Cale finally said. "Do you mind giving us your names?"(1)

            "Weren't you listening when we told you the story before?" a Kayura snapped immediately, but she was ignored.

            "I am Denice," the girl said and then nodded over to her light haired other half. "She is Amanda."

            And she turned her back to Cale, walking over to stand beside Amanda. Seconds later, there was a blinding flash of light. When it cleared, the blue-haired boy was sitting up in the bed, wide awake with his mouth open as he stared at the two girls standing by him, Amanda leaning on Denice and breathing heavily.(2)

            "Strata!" Cale snapped, calling his attention to him.

            "What the hell…?"

            Sekhmet began giggling for no apparent reason, earning himself several odd looks, before all attention was turned back to the bed.

            "How do you feel?" Denice asked Rowen suddenly, eyes trained on his.

            "Good," Rowen replied, staring back for a moment before blinking and leaning suddenly back from her. "Your _eyes_ are _red_!"  
            "Well aren't you the clever one?" Denice replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "I'd advise you to relax, Rowen of Strata. Your wounds have been healed, but you have lost a lot of blood. You will need rest before you do much physical activity."           

            "All right," Rowen replied slowly, sounding uncertain. "But the Warlor—" He had glance over at the Warlords and Masho, finally noticing their doubled numbers. "Two of each…."

            "Well done, Strata," Dais muttered. "But you're only halfway there. We're not exactly the same person. Well, Kayura might be, but other than that…." He shrugged.

            Rowen stared around at everyone, looking incredibly confused.

            "Perhaps we should explain what we know," Denice smirked suddenly. "And we should introduce ourselves to Strata, seeing as he had never met the majority of us. Perhaps there is a room we can all fit in?"

            "There should be," a Kayura shrugged. "But is Strata strong enough to walk?"

            Denice shrugged as Rowen slowly stood up. He took a couple of shaky steps forward before stumbling, and being caught by Denice.

            "Apparently not," Denice said calmly. "Amanda, your staff is on my back with my glaive. If you get it, you should be able to use it to walk. Just try not to drop it this time?"

            "Oh, shut up," Amanda muttered, reaching for a small bronze scabbard on Denice's back that nobody had noticed before. She pulled out a small metal bar before backing away. Swaying slightly on her feet, she held it out in front of her. It glowed white as it extended to be slightly taller than her.

            "Show us the way, Kayura," Denice said, shifting Rowen so he could lean on her shoulder as they walked.

            Kayura nodded slightly and then once again left the room, walking more slowly than she had before in order to keep at the pace of the two weakened people. There was about a five minute walk before Kayura threw open another door and they all went inside. Amanda dropped onto a chair with a soft sigh as Denice dropped Rowen onto a couch before sitting down next to him. The Warlords, Masho, and two Kayuras quickly followed suit.

            "I suppose we should start with introducing ourselves," Rajura began rather hesitantly after a few moments of silence. "I am Rajura."

            "I am Anubisu," Anubisu said.

            "Naaza," Naaza continued.

            "You already know my name," a Kayura laughed, acquiring a confused look from Rowen.

            "But for purpose of telling us apart by names, you can call me Kay(3)," the other Kayura added.

            "I'm Amanda," Amanda said after Kayura and Kay were done.

            "And I am Denice," Denice finished.

            Rowen looked around at everyone. "It's…er…nice to meet you," he said. "But what the hell is going on? And where are the others?"

            The Masho and Warlords exchanged nervous glances.

            "They must be in Tobraea's dungeon," Cale finally said slowly. "If they have not been killed already."

            "_What?_" Rowen gasped, trying to jump up, but was pulled back by Denice. "We've got to save them! …And who's Tobraea?"

            "They will not be killed," Denice snapped suddenly. "Tobraea will be more likely to hold them as hostages to negotiate with the seasonal bearers. He will let your friends go only if they hand over control of the Dynasty and the Youjakai. We cannot allow that, as the dimensions will give them powers they could not have otherwise. He and his men have already destroyed my entire village. We were all warriors. If he has these worlds, he will go after the Mortal Realm and Ninjenkai, and we will not be able to stop him."

            "But where did their armors come from?" Rajura asked suddenly. "The only mystical armor I have ever heard of existing was Talpa's broken down armor."

            "That is what we do not know," Denice murmured, shaking her head. "But they are capable of crossing both Realms and dimensions, as he had gone to both the Mortal Realm and Ninjenkai, as well as the Youjakai before coming here.

            "Wait, wait, slow down," Rowen muttered, shaking his head. "Youjakai? Realms and dimensions? Mind explaining all this for me?"

            "Mortals," Denice groaned. "Amanda can explain that much better than I can…."

            "You never paid attention in school, did you?" Amanda asked.

            "Why would I? I had much better things to do."

            Amanda laughed slightly, shaking her head. "Warriors," she sighed. "There are three different Realms. You know of two—the Mortal Realm you live in, and the Nether Realm we are in now. The last is the God Realm, where the Gods live. Nothing but a God or a raw soul may enter there. Both the Mortal and Nether Realms have an infinite amount of dimensions, with varying amounts of differences. Our two dimensions are extremely close to one another, which makes dimensional travel between them easier than it would normally be. The Youjakai is the equivalent of the Nether Realm, and the Ninjenkai is the Mortal Realm."(4)

            "…Oh," Rowen said.

            "However, this brings up another problem," Kay said suddenly, eyes on Amanda. "How is it that you can travel between dimensions?"

            "I don't know," Amanda shrugged, sounding embarrassed. "I wasn't paying attention that day."

            "But that was the day _I_ paid attention," Denice laughed. "Everyone in my Nether Realm clan has another half in _her_ Youjakai clan. Amanda and I are in essence the same person.

            "The history behind this is pretty much that the Gods made this the main difference between our dimensions. The Youjakai clan were a clan of Healers, while my clan was a clan of Warriors. Each of my people had small bronze horns to blow when we needed major healing from our Youjakai halves. They have been given the ability to cross dimensions and Realms, but it only works if we are in need of their help."

            "So, if you hadn't blown that horn…," Kay murmured.

            "Then you may have killed me, but would then have had to fight another of my clan. Injured as you were, you would not have won."

            "Well, I suppose I had to lose some time," Kay shrugged. "At least you were a worthy opponent."

            "I should certainly hope so," Kayura smirked. "I'd hate to think I could have lost to a weakling."

            "You do not sound as if you believe I could beat you," Denice said.

            "Perhaps I don't," Kayura returned.

            "Maybe we should have a bit of a battle," Denice suggested with a grin. "After we get rid of Tobraea, of course."

            "Maybe we should," Kayura agreed. "But first we must figure out what we need to do."

            "We must save the Ronins and Troopers first," Denice said. "We will need the Kikotei and Inferno if we wish to win, as they are far more powerful than us. We will also need new bearers for the Ogres. Kayura will not be able to handle the staff, her jitte, and the armor all at once."

            "Anubis and Shuten are both dead," Anubisu said. "The armor will stay with Kayura and Kay unless they return to life. That will be impossible."

            "It won't," Amanda interrupted. "We can bring them back, but first we need Kikotei and Inferno. I am not certain of the ceremonies…."

            "But I am," Denice added. "We must save the Ronins and Troopers first. For tonight, however, we rest."

**A/N: Hm. Nothing to say…. Hope you liked this thing. ^^ Next chapter, next week!**

**(1) *pokes Cale* Idiot.**

**(2) Bad sentence, I know. Did anyone follow it? *reads it again* I think I understand what I said….**

**(3) Kay would be the…Ronin version.**

**(4) This way of explaining weird things that should be able to happen seems to be running rampant throughout my Ronin fics. I need a new idea. ^^;**

**Thanks to:**

Nell- **Well you should make some excuses for reviews yourself, shouldn't you? You need them. Oh, and tell chibi werewolf club that none of that will happen, becuase Bailey-chan is too...too...well, you fill in a word there. I'm certainly not.**

Harry2- **Swiftgold's site is the best, isn't it? ^-^ I think I should submit this to her site, but.... Well, let's just put it that I'm a lazy bum, so.... And don't worry about the Cheesy Announcer Guy, I don't think he'll be coming back any time soon. *hides her frying pan***

Wildfire Dreams- **Thanks. ^-^**


	5. In Which They All Prepare

**Disclaimer: You know it.**

**Warnings: Nothing.**

**A/N: Hm…. What to say about this chapter? Well, nothing really…I think it got kinda boring-ish again, but this is one of those random chaps that are needed for the plot-ish thinger. Again. ^^; Yeah, we like these chapters a lot. Um…yes, and sorry about the lack of a post last week…my brother came home (he's in the Navy) for a week and kicked me off the computer. *scowls* Evil brother.**

_Chapter Five: In Which They All Prepare_

The sun rose along with the occupants of the ex-Warlords' castle. As Dais looked around him, he saw only the obvious signs of an oncoming battle. An unspoken tenseness filled the air. Cale and Anubisu were sparring with their long no-datchis. The Kayuras were watching. Sekhmet, with the help of Naaza, had managed to round up his snakes (Dais grinned as he remembered the curses that echoed through the castle when Cale had found one in his bed.) Sekhmet was now playing with his armor. Strata appeared to be in a trance, sitting unmoving on the edge of his chair. Amanda also seemed fully recovered as she plucked the string of her bow and carefully inspected her quiverfull of arrows. Naaza's humming, and the clanking of pots could be heard from the kitchen as he prepared their breakfast. Only Denice was nowhere to be seen.

            "We seem ready," Rajura stated calmly after approaching Dais.

            "Yes, we are. If only we knew more about how to fight Tobraea and his gang," Dais sighed, shaking his head.

            The fluttering sound of wings proceeded light footsteps as the dark-winged girl entered the room.

            "We must leave now, if we want to rescue the Ronins and Troopers," she announced.

            Everyone looked up and began to gather their remaining supplies. Naaza brought in the breakfast, which was devoured within minutes.

            With a slight frown, Dais asked Denice, "Why now?"

            "Why wait?" she returned with a sneer. "Your friends are being tortured in Tobraea's dungeons. It's better to try to sneak in in daylight then in darkness, when they will be more watchful."

            Dais shrugged. "Okay. If you say so."

            "I do."

            "Well, let's not wait any longer! I'm ready!" Sekhmet declared with a smile the size of one of his katanas.

            Denice rolled her eyes. "Alright. Teleport about ten miles south-west of here. I saw smoke in that direction, so it's a good place to start looking."

            Amanda nodded. "We'll meet you there in a few minutes, so stay out of sight until we arrive. We'll come up with a plan from there."      

            "Bad guys, here we come!" Sekhmet shouted.

            "Some heroes we are," Cale muttered, looking at his grinning companions.

            "Let's go," Kayura said. And they were gone. Denice and Amanda stood alone in the castle. Both spread their wings and soared into the morning sky.

            "Looks like we've got the right place."

            "You think?" Cale asked sarcastically in response to Sekhmet's comment.

            A place that could only be described as "Tobraea's Fort" loomed gloomily ahead. Even the bright morning light seemed dimmed as it shone on the dark shadows of its walls.

            Rajura muttered something in Japanese to Naaza, earning him a frown from Kay.

            "Now what?" Dais' question spoke their thoughts.

            "We wait," Kayura said firmly.

            "Shouldn't we scout around a little, look for entrances, for guards or something?"

            "No, Cale. We wait." Kayura was unmovable.

            "…Oh."

            "How long until they get here?" Rajura asked.

            "A few minutes."

            Silence again came over the group.

            After a long pause that seemed an eternity, the familiar sound of fluttering wings filled the air around them. Cale released the breath he didn't know he was holding.

            "Everyone ready?" Amanda asked as she and Denice closed their wings and glanced around. At Kayura's nod, she continued. "Good. We have a plan to get inside, so it's well that you waited for us."

            "Why do we need a plan?" Sekhmet suddenly spoke up. "I mean, we can get inside no problem. It's finding the dungeons that we have to worry about."

            Denice and Amanda exchanged uneasy glances.

            "I don't think you can et inside…," Amanda began carefully.

            "What? Why not? I can go anywhere in the Dynasty I want!" Sekhmet glared at her.

            "Well—"

            "Go ahead and let him try," Denice interrupted with a grin.

            "But it might trigger an alarm!" her other half argued. 

            "It seems as if we can't go on until we prove a point," Denice returned, looking at the confused faces around them.

            "Okay, fine. Sekhmet, try to teleport inside." 

            "Where inside?" the green-haired boy asked.

            "Anywhere, just try it!"

            "Okay." Sekhmet winced at her angry glare before trying to teleport.

            Nothing happened.

            "Hey! What—" Denice slapped her hand over the startled Sekhmet's mouth. They all listened and looked around uneasily.

            "Nothing," Amanda said with visible relief.

            "Uh…. What's going on?" Dais broke in.

            She turned to answer him. "A shield protects this castle from teleportation of invaders. We were lucky. It appears that he hasn't set any alarms to tell him when someone is attempting to enter."

            Cale shook his head. "So how do we get in?"

            "Our plan."

            "…Oh.

            "So what exactly is your plan?" Kay asked, looking skeptical.

            "Well…," Amanda started, "silver warriors are known for their treachery…."

            "You mean she's likely to turn on us?" Dais yelled in surprise.

            "I'm not. But others in my clan have," Denice claimed with a twisted look of amusement.

            The Warlords exchanged glances.

            "Would she really?" whispered Dais.

            Cale shrugged. "I don't know…but I trust Amanda. And Denice definitely wouldn't turn on her."

            "I guess." Dais decided to keep a close watch on the dark-winged girl, just in case.

            "So your plan is that she pretend to secretly conspire with Tobraea—" Kay began to confirm.

            "And then I find out where the prisoners are kept and let you all in to rescue them, of course," Denice said.

            "Of course," Kay muttered.

            Amanda noticed their increased looks of distrust. "Look, we want to put Tobraea out of power as much as you do. I will vouch for Denice. You have my word that she won't turn traitor. And if she does," Amanda shrugged, "you may kill me."

            "None of this is necessary. No one is going to turn traitor," Cale declared, trying to smooth the conversation over.(1) "Denice will go to Tobraea, trick him into believing her, and we'll get the Ronins and Troopers out. No problem."

            "All we need is a believable excuse for her to want to join Tobraea," Rowen spoke for the first time.

            All eyes turned to him.

            Rajura, looking thoughtful, nodded, "Yes. Power-hungry men like Tobraea can only think on terms of greed. Denice can say that, after Amanda returned to their village to look for survivors, she joined us and tricked us into trusting her. Then she decided to go to Tobraea to offer her services to him, in exchange for a portion of the Dynasty to control."

            Denice also nodded,(2) "He will believe that because of my people's reputation. I will pretend to leave to kill you all. Instead, I'll meet you here, and we'll rescue the Ronins and Troopers."

            "Maybe we shouldn't be so close to his castle," Kayura suggested.

            "I know a good spot to hide that's not far," Amanda said. "Denice, meet us at The Oak's Circle."

            Denice nodded then turned to the castle, disappearing in the darkness.

            __

**A/N: Yes, I know the chances of Rowen and Amanda being fully recovered after a single night are very slim. Well, of Rowen at least. Amanda only needs a few…er…hours? or something to recuperate. I'm not too sure how much time is needed to get back to…er…having all the blood you're supposed to…. Um. Yeah. Anyway. Next thing!**

**Oh, and I'm not sure if I ever bothered to go back to this one and spellcheck it…so if you find a ton of mistakes, you know why. ^^;**

**(1) And failing miserably, I might add.**

**(2) Because, hey, nodding is "in" these days!**

**Thanks to:**

Nell- **Well, to chibi werewolf remie cub. Tell Nell to try actually reading the fic! Just skimming. *pouts* Nell mean! Oh…and I'd love to take you, but…*sighs* Me not sure how other people might appreciate it, and me not wanna get in trouble.**

Harry2- **Hmm…I might look her up. Thanks for the info. ^-^ *blinks* Um…I haven't seen the cheesy announcer guy in a while. *looks relieved* I'm not sure if I could handle him right now….**


	6. In Which the Ronins Finally Make an Actu...

**Disclaimer: Blah blah blah, blah blahblahblah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah?**

**Warnings: ah…nothing.**

**A/N: Am very sorry about the focus on Denice in the beginning here. But I had to. ^^; Other than that…nothing to say.**

**BTW, I don't think I ever put this anywhere yet…. Anyway, if you're ever unsure whether or not I've updated this some time, there are two easy ways to check. The easier, I think, is to join my yahoo group (called insert_randomness), so you'll get e-mails…though be warned, you'll get stuff for all of my fics, most of which aren't this one. The other is to go to my livejournal. (username: queenstrata…I'd put the link up here, but ff.net is EVIL.) So yeah. That's about it. I'll just get on with the story now.**

_Chapter Six: In Which the Ronins Finally Make an Actual Appearance_

            Denice walked through the halls of the castle, looking around her nervously. The torches on the walls glowed an eerie blue color, lighting up before her as she walked, footsteps echoing throughout the silent castle. Then, suddenly, she reached a pair of ornate golden doors.

            She stopped for a moment, staring at the doors in front of her, before gulping audibly and pushing them forcibly inwards.

            "Ah, Denice!" Tobraea's voice came from inside the lighted room. "Do come inside, won't you?"

            Denice stepped forward cautiously, automatically suspicious. As she entered, she looked around the room reflexively, searching for hidden traps or people in the shadows. Nothing. Tobraea was alone.

            "I've been waiting for you," he continued amiably, grinning, and the doors suddenly slammed closed.(1)

            Startled, Denice jumped, wings automatically appearing and forcing her to take flight for a moment before she controlled herself and landed again.

            "You have?" she finally asked. "How?"

            "I watched you plan," Tobraea laughed. "The green-haired, boy's attempted entrance, _had_ set off an alarm, heard only _inside_ this castle. We would not want to alert you that we knew, would we?

            "Still, I must admit that your plan was very good. I would have believed you, treacherous little demon that you are. But your chances are slim now, and I cannot afford to risk you escaping. Any last words?"

            "Several," Denice replied, grinning coldly at him. "What makes you so certain that I did not plan on deceiving _Amanda_?"

            "You would betray her?" Tobraea returned, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

            "Why wouldn't I?" Denice replied with a shrug. "We know nothing of you, of your powers. We cannot hope to defeat those we know nothing about. It makes much more sense to join you, and perhaps get that part of the Dynasty I desire.

            Tobraea stared at her for another moment before suddenly laughing manically.

            "You have spoken well, warrior," he said after his laughter had finally died down. "But I will not trust you without cause. Bring me a big of a peace offering, and I will allow you to join us. I believe you know what I want?"

            "Strata," Denice nodded, frowning thoughtfully. "But I have a _tiny_ problem…."

            "And that is?" Tobraea growled out impatiently.

            "I want him for myself," Denice returned with a twisted grin.

            Tobraea laughed again. "Then you can have him," he said. "Go get him now."

            Denice bowed to Tobraea before turning on her heel and walking back out of the castle. When she reached the outside, she immediately spread her wings and took off.

~*~

            "It's a cemetery," Cale said in disbelief, looking around.

            "It is," Amanda agreed softly, moving to a small group of the crude wooden crosses stuck in the ground, and running a hand softly over the largest one. "This is the burial ground of our clan," she continued, giving a short bow to the cross. "Denice and I were the only survivors—Denice because Tobraea grabbed her, and I because they forced me into hiding." She paused then, tears in her eyes. "These three graves here are all that is left of Denice's family. Her brother was so young, just barely old enough to…." Amanda stopped suddenly. A single tear made its way down her cheek.

            Cale stepped forward almost reflexively, and gently wiped the tear away. "I'm sorry," he stated simply.(2)

            Amanda smiled softly at him for a moment before suddenly pulling away. "We should make some sort of shelter," was all she said.

            The others looked around at each other for a moment before following Amanda's lead and beginning to help her.

            "Looks as if we're not _exactly_ alike," Anubisu murmured to Cale, grinning.

            Cale only blushed.

            When their crude shelter was completed, everyone sat down, preparing to relax. But they hadn't been resting for long before Denice had suddenly alighted to the ground in front of htem.

            "That was quick," Sekhmet commented, earning a smack from Dais for his trouble.

            "What are you doing back already?" Amanda asked.

            "He doesn't quite believe me," Denice replied, shaking her head. "He says he wants a 'peace offering'."

            "A peace offering?" Amanda repeated. "What could he possibly want?"

            "He wants Strata."

            All eyes turned to Rowen, who was suddenly pale.

            "_Me?_" he squeaked out. "What does he want with _me_?"

            "I'm not sure," Denice replied. "He probably just doesn't want any more enemies than he has already. With me joining him and bringing Strata with me, he's already got two less people to worry about. Or so he believes."

            "So I'm going to be thrown in his dungeons in order to help get my friends _out_ of the dungeons?" Rowen asked blankly, sounding rather confused.(3)

            "No, not in the dungeons," Denice returned awkwardly. "I can keep you out of them, but you must give me your armor orb and do whatever I tell you to do."

            "So I become your slave."

            "Something like that," Denice agreed. "But as it's the only way…."

            "I'll do it," Rowen finally said, and he released his subarmor. He paused for a moment, clutching the marble in his hand, before he handed it to Denice.

            "Right then," Denice said, putting the orb into a nearly invisible pocket. "I suppose it'll be faster if I carry you, so if you don't mind…."

            "Uh…no, I suppose not," Rowen returned nervously.(4)

            "I'm not sure how long I'll be," Denice said to Amanda, walking toward Rowen. "I'll be learning as much information about Tobraea and the dungeons as possible. We'll need it to fight him."

            Amanda nodded as Denice wrapped an arm around Rowen and took off.

            "This will be a _long _wait," Dais muttered to Rajura, who nodded absently back. "And I'm _still_ not sure I trust her."

            "Me neither," Rajura agreed. "But I suppose we'll find out soon enough."

~*~

            "Excellent."

            Tobraea was grinning. Rowen stared at him vaguely, unnerved. This guy just didn't seem _human_.

            "Now, before I give you your room, and before we take a little trip to the dungeons, is there anything you'd particularly like to know?"

            "Yes, actually," Denice replied. "How exactly did you get your powers? No mere mortal can—"

            "We are _not_ mere mortals," Tobraea interrupted, laughing slightly.(5) "We are spirits—something akin to the Nether Spirits Talpa controlled, but not quite the same."

            "Then you can't be killed?" Denice breathed out, eyes widening.

            "We can," Tobraea returned unpleasantly, no longer grinning. "The Ronins and Troopers are the only ones that can truly destroy us. Their weapons…" He paused, frowning. "But you don't need to know that."

            "I suppose not," Denice murmured.

            "You don't," Tobraea repeated. "Anyway. We were the first beings the Gods created. _We_ are the true rulers of these realms of demons, and we alone have been given the power to jump across dimension with no problems. But we were not originally given form. Even we do not know how it happened, or where these armor came from.(6)  But it has happened, and we are taking advantage of it."

            "Why is it that you had to bring the elements and seasons to bring those from the Ningenkai?" Denice asked next.

            "The balance of good and evil must remain consistent," Tobraea sneered in disgust. "But that is enough. You want to see the Ronins and Troopers, don't you? Bring Strata, I'm sure he would be _delighted_ to see this."

            "I'm sure," Denice agreed with her twisted grin.

~*~

            "You know, this capture and torture business is really annoying," Kento grumbled, once again trying futilely to break out of his chains. "They could have at least left us with our armors."

            "What's the point in torturing us anyway?" Shu grumbled in agreement with his counterpart. "At least Talpa had a good reason to suck our energy out."

            "Would you two shut _up_ already?" Shin finally snapped, growling. "I do _not_ need to be reminded of that!"

            "Sorry," Shu replied with a sigh. "But my sense of humor's gone now. And I'm _starving_."

            "And no one else is?" Cye asked. "What I'd do for a kitchen right now. And a spatula, to shut you up."

            "You wouldn't be able to use it anyway," Kento said sensibly.

            "Stop arguing," Sage moaned.

            "Please," Seiji agreed. "I have a horrible headache."

            "Well aren't you special," Touma muttered sarcastically. "At least _you_ didn't see someone that could have been you get killed."

            "You cannot be sure he is truly dead, Touma," Seiji said, frowning thoughtfully. "All the armors are connected for them as they are for us. I am certain our counterparts would have felt their companion's death."

            Touma looked about ready to snap something back, but the door to their dungeon was suddenly thrown open. Eighteen eyes stared angrily at Tobraea as he entered, two people behind him.

            "Rowen!" Ryo gasped out as he suddenly recognized one of the people. Rowen's head snapped toward them immediately, and he walked over to them all. Neither Tobraea nor the almost familiar woman with him seemed to notice.

            "Where's your armor?" Ryo hissed at him immediately.

            "Denice has it," Rowen replied, shrugging helplessly.

            "Who?"

            "The girl over there," Rowen replied, nodding his head in her direction. "She's trying to help. She, the Warlords, the Masho, and some friend of hers came up with some odd plan to get you all out."

            "Are you sure you can trust them?"

            "Not at all," Rowen shrugged. "But it's the only chance we've got. I can't get you out of here on my own…."

            "Especially now you've gone and given your armor to that…whatever she is."

            "Demon?" Rowen provided.

            "Whatever," Ryo agreed crossly.

            "Wait a second," Touma said suddenly. "How'd you get healed so fast? You were nearly _dead_ before!"

            "Denice's friend—her name's Amanda—has this extremely powerful healing power. The only problem is that it completely drains her of her energy, so she's barely even capable of standing," Rowen explained.

            "Denice got any special abilities?" Ryo asked immediately.

            "Not that I know of. Actually, I think she's just a regular fighter. Everyone's got this odd habit of calling her a warrior."

            "She must be extremely powerful then," Touma murmured thoughtfully.

            "Well, of course I am!" Denice's voice suddenly rang out. Rowen turned to see Denice walking toward them, Tobraea nowhere in sight. "I wouldn't be alive if I wasn't!"

            "Where's Tobraea?" Rowen asked curiously.

            "Waiting for us," Denice responded nonchalantly. "So we should get going, shouldn't we? I think he wants to show us to our room."

            "_Your_ room?" Sage sputtered out. "Both of you are going to be in the _same_ room?"

            "Apparently," Denice responded dryly. "You must be Halo. I hear Korin's afraid of women," she grinned.

            Seiji glared at her, but didn't say anything in his own defense.

            "As I thought," Denice smirked smugly. "Let's go, Strata."

            "But—" Rowen began, but stopped short as Denice glared at him, stepping forward slightly.

            "_Don't_ argue with me, Strata," she hissed in a low whisper. "If this plan is going to work, you're going to have to play this little game properly. You will do _whatever_ I say _whenever_ I say. As far as Tobraea is concerned, I should kill any disobedient servants, as they obviously aren't needed. Remember that."

            "Er…right. Sorry," Rowen muttered back.

            "Better," she murmured, and then returned to her normal tone of voice. "Enjoy your stay, boys!" she grinned to the Ronins and Troopers before grabbing a tight hold on Rowen's arm and leading him out of the room.

            "And here we go again…," Touma muttered to himself.(7)

A/N: That was fun! *bounces off to type the next chapter*

**(1) Ala scary movie. ^-^**

(2) Do you know how much this makes me love Cale? He's such a sweetie! *sniffles and hugs Cale*

(3) Not exactly up to par today, is he? I blame the blood loss.

(4) What does he think Denice will do? Drop him? …Man, I like making fun of what I write too much. ^^;

(5) My, he's certainly a cheerful bad guy.

(6) Good way to plug up a plot hole, isn't it? "Nobody knows, and we expect you not to care." *grins* I'm kidding, don't worry. We…might…find out. If I can…well. Nevermind.

(7) Touma's final comment here can be taken two ways. For those that believe Rowen actually liked Kayura, it could mean that Rowen was, again, liking the "evil" girl. Otherwise, it can simply be that it's practically him trying a half-baked rescue plan. Again. ^^

Thanks to:

Nell- Um…yeah, sure thing, Nell.

Harry2- Hm… I'm not too sure about roasting him over a fire. I hear burning flesh is a really bad smell. Oh, and glad you still like it. ^-^

WildfireDreams- Thankies. ^-^


	7. In Which Sekhmet Gets a Lot of Attention

**Disclaimer: Yadda, yadda, yadda.**

**Warnings: None.**

**A/N: Another chapter. Behold the very first paragraph. It is big. It is very big. Isn't it beautiful? 179 words. I bet I can do better. *grins and sticks her tongue out at Bailey-chan***

Thoughts are in _italics._

~*~ means a change in POV

_Chapter Seven: In Which Sekhmet Gets a Lot of Attention_

            Sekhmet was incredibly bored. Incredibly, because he was well-known for being able to amuse himself with anything. Bored, because he had first watch in the middle of a new graveyard that was as silent and peaceful as…well, a tomb. He began his guard-duty by walking up and down the rows of and wondering about the people buried there. By the time he was enclosed in darkness so deep he couldn't read the names anymore, he had concluded that the Warrior Village had consisted of…warriors. He didn't have much to go on anyway, was the thought he consoled himself with. Now, he still had at least another hour to go, before he woke Naaza for his turn. He could barely make out the quiet forms of his friends sleeping in a semi-circle in the cemetery's small clearing. He did have a vague guess of which one was Cale, since he had _accidentally_ stepped on him, and was kicked and yelled at in return. Sekhmet sighed. At least if he was asleep his dreams would have been more interesting than this.

            Suddenly, like a light being turned on, a wind came. It was not the eerie, noisy wind that one normally found in a cemetery (at least the ones that he knew of), but a calming, silent wind that made Sekhmet feel strangely surround by an aura of power. He could feel it flowing through him, strengthening him, giving him courage and hope. Just as suddenly as it came, it was gone.

            In a daze, Sekhmet looked around. No one had moved. He heard Amanda sigh softly, but other that that only the slow breathing of his friends broke the night's silence.

            He shook his head. _I must have fallen asleep or something as that weird wind came, _he decided. A glance at the moon's positions in the sky told him it was time for Naaza to take over. With one last look around that he expected to show him nothing out of the ordinary, his eyes caught sight of an unfamiliar shape on one of the crosses. Unconsciously with hands on his katanas, he stepped forward. As he drew closer, he realized it was a necklace of some sort. A dark, blood-red jewel, that could barely be seen in the darkness, hung from a chain.

            Cautiously, he grasped the jewel in his hand. The fleeting thought that he was desecrating the dead was dismissed as he remembered that the jewel had appeared with the wind.

            He still stood undecided until, with a shrug, he lifted the jewel off the cross and placed it under his armor.

            He felt tired now, so tired. After shaking Naaza awake, he lied down with a content smile on his face. His last thought before sleep took him was: _A gift…._

            Sekhmet woke the next morning before first light to Dais' shout. He cracked his eyes open enough to see what was going on, but not enough to seem awake. He could see Denice's dark form contrasted to Amanda's bright one. They all stood talking. No one was looking at him, so he decided to go back to sleep. The night before's memory hovered on the edge of his mind and then disappeared. The jewel's secret slept with him.

~*~

            "So we'll be able to get them out and escape before he gets back?" Kayura asked for a second time.

            Denice glared at her. "Yes. If I didn't think we had a chance, why would I be telling you?"

            Kayura glared aback at her. "I'm just making sure. How can _you_ be sure that Tobraea didn't just let you overhear his "secret" plans? If he is really alone, like you say, why can't we try to rescue them now?"

            Frustration forced Denice to close her eyes and clench her fists to continue. "You're not listening to me. I overheard Tobraea looking in a crystal sphere and talking to his other warriors. He said that tomorrow night he would leave to perform "the rites" as he called them. He would leave me in charge of their hideout and wouldn't be back until the next morning."

            Rajura frowned. "He trusts you now?"

            "Yes. My peace offering appeased him. Today he will tell me that I am in charge until he returns. If not, then he was lying last night and knew I was listening."

            Amanda spoke up, "So we'll come tonight to release them. When should he be gone?"

            Shrugging, Denice said, "After moonrise. If it comforts you any, he still doesn't know where you all are. He's probably going to try to find you after he gets back. We're running out of time either way, and we probably won't get another chance like this."

            She looked around at all of them for agreement. It was then that she noticed Sekhmet's absence. He was peacefully snoring a few feet away, a drop of drool hanging from his mouth, going in and out with his breaths.(1)

            _What a fool. _She frowned in disgust.

            Cale cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

            "We'll meet Denice at Tobraea's hideout-fort-thingie…uh…" he paused "…after moonrise, and we will rescue the Ronins and Troopers. Once we do that, we can move onto Plan Number Two to defeat Tobraea."

            "Well, let's not think that far ahead," muttered Kayura.

            "Amanda?" Denice looked at her twin.

            She nodded in return. "I'll be there."

            "Good." With that, Denice spread her wings and soared into the sky back towards Tobraea's dark castle.

            "Tell Strata we'll see him soon!" called Naaza just before she disappeared from sight.

~*~

            As if mocking the first time she walked the castle's halls, the torches lit up before her as her footsteps echoed around her. Only now she strode forward with confidence. Entering Tobraea's decorative parlor-room, she found her way to the seat directly across from him.

            He looked up with a twisted smile.

            "So you told them?"

            At her nod, the silent room filled with laughter.

**A/N: Muahahahaha? Yes, only one footnote here. Aren't you happy?**

**(1) Nice image, huh? ^^;**

**Thanks to:**

Nell-** No. I'm not. And me sorry, chibi werewolf remie cub, I can't believe I forgot to say something to you! *huggles* Forgive me? I'm happy you like it. ^-^**

WildfireDreams- **Well, we'll see, won't we? We might've already finished writing this, but that doesn't mean I remember anything from it. ^^; QS have baaaad memory. And Bailey-chan don't use computer, so she can't tell me. *pouts***

Harry2- **Did we? I don't even remember which chapter it was. ^^; It's not like I read it before I put this up or anything. Oh, and don't worry about the announcer. *mumbling and groaning is heard from behind QS* I think he'll be staying where he is for a loooooong while. *the announcer mumbles louder, trying to talk through his gag* (to the announcer) Hey, dude, do you _want_ the water torture? *silence* ^_______________^ Poor Bailey-chan, though. I just ruined her job.**


	8. In Which Sekhmet Has His Revenge

**Disclaimer: Sunrise. 'Nuff said.**

**Warnings: *loves Sekhmet***

A/N: *loves Sekhmet* Haha, yeah. Oh, and sorry about the uber-long delay in updating. I was trying to write a novel this month for NaNoWriMo, but I got about 4,600 words in before I realized I wasn't going to be writing anymore of it. *rolls eyes at herself* But I'm back now, so you can probably expect updates to return to normal. Oh, and at the end of the next chapter, Bailey-chan will have a little message for you. ^-^

Telepathic speech is in those little squiggly things. ~telephathy~

Thoughts are in _italics_.

_Chapter Eight: In Which Sekhmet Has His Revenge_

            "So you have come."

            The Warlords and Masho immediately skidded to a stop, looking around for Tobraea.

            "Oh, I wouldn't recommend looking for me," Tobraea's voice resounded through the air. "You won't find me.(1) But who cares about that? I have a little proposition for you. You have precisely one hour to find the Ronins and Troopers, find their armor orbs, free them, and escape from my castle. If you succeed, I will allow you to go without molestation. Otherwise…." They could practically _feel_ his twisted grin. "Well. Your time starts…now."

            "I _knew_ it!" Dais growled as soon as the voice disappeared. "I _knew_ she'd turn traitor! Why did we ever trust her?"

            "She didn't betray us!" Amanda snapped, her still-present wings twitching in annoyance. "She couldn't have! Denice would never betray me!"

            "Well she obviously _did_!" Rajura snapped back.

            "She didn't betray us," Amanda repeated stubbornly. "She didn't."

            "Stop being so blind!" Rajura growled. "People like her can't understand—"

            "Rajura, shut up!" Sekhmet yelled suddenly to everyone's surprise. "Listen, just forget about Denice for the next hour! Arguing about her won't help us get out of here!"

            Everyone stared wordlessly at Sekhmet, mouths hanging open. Having finally proven that he wasn't the complete and utter moron he was often presumed to be, he hung his head and blushed furiously. Then he continued in a low voice, "Maybe we should split up. Half of us should go get the Ronins and Troopers, and the other half should find the orbs. …Wait, no, that wouldn't work. We should just split up and go in opposite directions."

            "I never thought I'd hear myself say this," Cale began slowly, "but, Sekh, you're a genius!"

            Sekhmet simply blushed more.

            "All right," Amanda agreed. "I'll go with the Warlords to the right. Masho, you go to the left…."

            "No," Dais argued suddenly. "It'll be better if at least one of us switches places. I'll go with the rest of the Masho, and Rajura should go in my place. That way, if one group finds something, we can easily communicate it to the others."

            "That's actually a good idea," Kay murmured. "Let's go."

            "And, Rajura," Kayura muttered in an undertone to the white-haired man, "don't say a _thing_ about Denice.'

            "I won't," Rajura muttered back, shaking his head.

            Then the group split in half, going in the directions Amanda had suggested. The Warlords, Rajura, and Amanda walked in complete silence. The halls twisted confusingly, and the torches refused to light up. Tobraea evidently wanted to make it as hard on them as possible.

            After a few minutes of random walking, Rajura inexplicably stopped.

            "Rajura, what—" Cale began, but Rajura held up a hand for silence and he cut himself off.

            Nobody moved. After a moment of silence, two voices could be heard arguing around the corner, the sound growing steadily louder.

            "…actually went and told them when you _knew_ it was a trap!"

            "I had to! Tobraea needed the proof that I was actually loyal to him! If they can just find their way to the dungeons and free them, they'll get out fine!"

            "The only had an _hour_! It could take them that long to actually _find_ the dungeons!"

            "But this is the only chance we have!"

            "Can't you just go to them and help them find the dungeons?"

            "I'd love to, really I would, but they could be _any_where! Why do you think we're walking around? We won't find them sitting around in our room. I just hope we _do_ actually find them."

            "Me too. I don't think I can stand pretending to be your slave any longer, and if the guys don't get out soon…."

            "They'll get out soon, Rowen. The Warlords and everyone aren't stupid, no matter how much the majority of them act."

            "…I hope you're right…."

            The voices stopped then, and no echoing footsteps were heard to herald the approach of the two around the corner.

            "What do you think?" Rajura whispered to the group of people gathered behind him.

            "It could be a trap," Sekhmet muttered rather hesitantly.

            "But Strata wouldn't agree to anything that would prolong his friends' suffering," Cale pointed out.

            "So we trust her?" Kay asked.

            "I hate to say this…," Rajura muttered. "But if she can lead us to the Ronins and Troopers, we have no choice but to."

            "I told you she didn't betray us!" Amanda hissed to Rajura.

            "I'm not saying I actually trust her," Rajura returned, frowning. "I'm just saying that we've got to take chances if we want to get everyone out."

            Amanda glared at Rajura before turning to walk around the corner.

            "Sekhmet," she said over her shoulder, "tell Dais what's going on. I'm sure he and the Masho will be interested."

            "Okay," Sekhmet returned before doing as she said. ~Dais!~

            ~Hey, Sekh,~ Dais' thought-voice spoke back. ~Find anything?~

            ~Denice and Strata.~

            ~_What?_ Do you need us to—~

            ~No, no! We're not fighting, they're just going to—HOLY SHIT!~

            Sekhmet stared wide-eyes at the scene before him. He was sure that this was something they shouldn't have walked in on.

            ~Sekh? Sekh, what's happening?~ Dais' voice came again.

            ~They're…they're…~ Sekhmet stuttered, unable to even come up with a complete thought.

            ~They're _what_?~ was the impatient reply.

            ~They're _kissing_!~ Sekhmet finally got out. He could feel himself blushing and quickly looked away from the two before him.

            ~That's _it_?~ Dais question in disbelief. ~Gees, Sekh, don't act like that if it's not important!~

            ~But,~ Sekhmet tried.

            ~Just contact me once you've _really_ found something, all right?~ Dais' thought-voice sighed.

            Sekhmet didn't even bother to reply. Cale had finally made their presence known, and he had more interesting things to think about.

            "I must say, you're doing a remarkable job of searching for us," Cale had said.

            Strata and Denice had immediately broken apart, looking guilty. The boy was now blushing furiously, but his arm did not drop from the petite demoness' waist.

            "Excellent!" Denice said, grinning widely. "Now we don't have to go looking for you!  Come quick, I'll lead you to the dungeons!"

            And she pulled out of Strata's grip, grabbed one of his hands, and immediately walked off, obviously expecting them to follow her.

            The group left behind shared a bemused look before following her deeper into the castle. The torches lit up before Denice and they all rushed after her to avoid being left in the dark again. The walk was silent.

            Eventually, Sekhmet began to become bored. After all, a guy could only spend so much time during his immortal life counting the torches, and he head spent half his time while he was serving Talpa doing so. He had only stopped after he'd counted that there were exactly two million, six hundred fifty-nine thousand, seven hundred sixty-one in the castle. Besides, he really wasn't very interested in the torches of Tobraea's fort, since he didn't live there. (And he never would, if he had anything to say bout it.)

            So he decided to content himself with watching the others. His eyes landed on Kay first. She was walking with her head bowed as if she was deep in thought. _Probably about Denice and Strata_, Sekhmet thought to himself. Deciding it would be better for his health if he left her alone, he allowed his gaze to move forward to Cale and Amanda. Cale was a step or two behind, walking in a manner that made it seem as if he was protecting her. Amanda was walking in her normal manner, but her wings (still out) were twitching once again and Sekhmet was sure the girl's head kept turning as if she wanted to look behind her. Chuckling softly, he moved onto Rajura. Ah, Rajura. The man was still abnormally suspicious of Denice. But then, if Rajura was anything like Dais, he was suspicious of everyone. Finally, his gaze came to rest on Strata and Denice. He noted with amusement that their hands were gripping each other's, fingers entwined. Strata was a step behind Denice, but his eyes were obviously riveted on the girl in front of him. Denice, though, was seemingly oblivious to everything, striding purposefully forward.(2)

            Or, at least, she _had been_ striding purposefully forward. Denice had suddenly stopped in front of a door. After a moment's thought, he decided that it must be the door to the dungeons. The only question was, why wasn't she opening it?

            "Denice?" Amanda whispered hesitantly. "Why aren't you going in?"

            "I'm trying to remember something," Denice whispered back grumpily.

            There was a moment of silence, and Denice pulled on the handle of the door. The door didn't budge. Silence again.

            Then Rowen leaned forward slightly, whispering something in Denice's ear. Denice looked thoughtful for a moment before she suddenly nodded. Then she muttered something unintelligible, and the door suddenly swung open.

            "What's going on?" he heard Wildfire's voice ask.(3)

            "Three guess, Tiger," Denice hissed back. "And the last two don't count."

            Sekhmet entered the room. The mixed group of Ronins and Troopers were staring at him and everyone else (except Strata) in distrust.

            "So, what do we do?" Rajura asked Denice.

            Ignoring him, she turned to Strata.

            "You remember how to turn these things off, right?" she asked him. At his nod, she continued. "Good. Turn the energy off. They will have one minute to break the chains before it automatically turns back on."

            "Where are you going?" Strata asked.

            "To get their orbs," Denice replied and waved Amanda over.

            "Why do I need to come?" Amanda asked.

            "Only armor-bearers can break those chains," Denice replied. "I tried to break them once, but I couldn't And yet…." She paused, scowling. "Never mind that. Just come with me."

            "All right," Amanda shrugged.

            The two demonesses left through a side door. Strata walked over to a large control panel and began playing with several of the controls.

            "When I tell you to go," Strata's voice drifted over to them, "start breaking the chains."       

            The four chain-breakers shared another bemused look before moving over to the hanging Ronins and Troopers, prepared to start ripping apart the chains. Nearly a minute passed.

            "Go!" Strata finally yelled.

            Everyone immediately began ripping the chains apart, catching the Ronins and Troopers as they stumbled forward, and then quickly moving on to the next person.

            The finished before the minute was over, standing around awkwardly. After a moment, the Ronins and Troopers hesitantly thanked them.

            "What's taking Denice and Amanda so long?" Rajura asked, looking over at the door the two had disappeared through.

            Then, almost as if in answer to his question, there was a sudden ear-splitting scream.

**A/N: …Dude, did I even finish typing up this chapter? No, of course not. *goes to type the rest of it up* Ok, the chain-breaking part is stupid. But it worked. Eh, whatever. So anyway. Stay tuned next week, for when I will hopefully remember to update! ^-^**

**(1) Because I've finally gotten my PA system hooked up! Bow down to the power of the speakers! (^^; QS has problems, ne?)**

**(2) My revenge for Bailey-chan's super-long paragraph. *grins* 198 words. *cackles* Beat that, Bailey-chan!**

**(3) This is where I'd accidentally stopped typing up the chapter. Good thing I caught that, huh? ^^;**

**Thanks to:**

Harry2- **The necklace is…well, you'll see. I think we got the description right, but don't take my word for it. I haven't seen any it in a good five years. And the announcer guy got away somehow…I have no idea where he went, but I'm hoping he won't be coming back. And that's _Masho_, not _Mousha_. ^^**

Nell- **In this fic? Yes, I do. And remi cub: Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get good speaking skills soon. And thanks for forgiving me. ^-^ *glomps back***


	9. In Which They Have Their First Fight

**Disclaimer: …**

**Warnings: …**

**A/N: Wee! Another chapter! *dances* Er…not that it's surprising or anything, all things considered. ^^; Here, enjoy! Eh...nearly forgot to put this stupid thing up. -_- Anyway. Stay tuned for the Note from Bailey-chan at the bottom!**

Telepathic speech is in those little squiggly things. ~telepathy~

Thoughts are in _italics_.

~*~ means a change in POV

_Chapter Nine: In Which They Have Their First Fight_

            Neither the Ronins, Troopers, nor Warlords had time to even think before they all rushed blindly forward through the open doorway. The scene that met their eyes did nothing to calm their worst fears.

            Amanda lay unmoving in a pool of blood on the floor only a few feet away from a pedestal holding ten armor robs. Denice appeared unscathed as she hovered above her. Between the two girls and the orbs, four evil-looking warriors stood, their faces covered by their hideous helmets.

            _The two Mizuchaki's and the Tsukishimo's, _Rajura thought grimly to himself.

            Cale's sharp gasp broke the tense silence as he ran forward to Amanda's side.

            One of the Tsukishimo's shook his head slightly from side to side as he pulled back on his thick bow and released the thick arrow.

            It caught Cale in the shoulder, pushing him down just as he moved forward to protect the white-winged girl's still form. As he glanced at the arrow deeply embedded in him, he heard himself gasp and felt his eyes struggle to remain focused. Forcing himself to crawl again to his position as protector, in front of Amanda, he waited for the next arrow he knew would come. It did.

            An angry growl from deep in Sekhmet's chest reached his eyes as he leaped forward with a snarl. At the same time, Rajura attacked from beside him. Another fierce battle cry resounded from the air as the attack became threefold.

            As he watched, Rowen was held back only by the thought that without his armor, he would just be in the way. So did the rest of the Ronins and Troopers.

            Both Mizuchaki's braced themselves for Denice's slicing katanas, while the Tsukishimo's both knocked new arrows to meet their own attackers.

            But Sekhmet and Rajura were already too close. Their blades pierced the evil warriors' armors, but they couldn't tell if any real damage had been done. Their opponents both pulled identical knives out of small, hidden sheaths and began to slash down on the Warlord/Masho duo. Their fight became desperate.

            Above them, Denice was sharing their frustration as her skillful blows fell with no success on the Mizuchaki's. There was no way they would be defeated by just the three of them.

            Rowen was now frantic! He knew that their three charges couldn't stand a chance against the four impenetrable warriors of Tobraea. And without his and the other Ronins' and Troopers' armor orbs , they could do nothing to help.

            _The orbs! That's it!_ He almost jumped for joy. With the orbs' guardians occupied, he swiftly and quietly reached the pedestal.

            Reaching for his orb, he quickly motioned the others over. They caught onto his plan and raced over.

            Within seconds, they would all have their orbs, Rowen thought happily, if only—

            "Ahhhh!" A Mizuchaki's bellow filled the air as they saw him crash into the pedestal. It crashed to the ground, throwing the orbs to the ground underneath the rubble.

            "No!" Ryo yelled, desperately trying to find his orb, hoping that somehow they were unbroken. All the Ronins and Troopers were now searching through the rubble for their orbs, oblivious to the battle around them.

            In the confusion, they heard the whack of the other Mizuchaki's powerful trident as it slammed Denice into the wall. With a cry, she slid to the floor.

            Rowen, who had managed to hold tight to his orb, ran to her.

            Sekhmet paused in his own battle as the thought of contacting Dais and the other Masho came to his mind.

            ~Dais!~

            ~What now, Sek? Not a spin-the-bottle game?~

            ~_DAIS!_~ Sekhmet thought-spoke, blushing.

            ~What's going on?~ At least now they were getting back on topic.

            ~They're too strong for us, and Amanda and Denice are both hurt and Cale too, and we can't keep fighting them and they're all looking for the orbs since he knocked them over—~

            ~Whoa. Hold on there. I can't understand a thing you just said. Start over.~ Dais attempted to calm the flustered boy.

            ~I can't! We're battling! You have to find us and help!~

            ~Okay, look, no matter what, we'll find you guys. Just hold on.~

            Sekhmet didn't respond.

~*~

            "What's wrong?" Kayura frowned at him.

            "I'm not really sure. All I know is that they're in a battle that they're losing and something about looking for the orbs that got knocked over. Oh, and Amanda, Denice, and Cale are hurt."

            Her glare intensified. "Well, in case you haven't noticed, we can't exactly run next door to help them. We don't even know where _we_ are! How can we find them?"

            "We will somehow. We just have to work our way backwards until we find the dungeons, since that's where they probably are." Dais was already walking back the way they had come.

            "But Dais," Anubisu exclaimed, "this maze is constantly changing! Every time we turn, a wall changes behind us! It seems as if we're going in circles."

            "We have to try."

            The group sighed, recognizing the grim, determined look they so often saw on Rajura's face.

            "Okay. Let's go." Kayura raised her hands in defeat.

~*~

            Even as he raised one of his blades to block a stunning blow, Sekhmet knew their time was running out. He doubted if they had even ten minutes before their hour ended. _How stupid we were to think we could escape, _he thought as he blocked another of the Tsukishimo's powerful thrusts. He turned his head just in time to see Rajura thrown against the floor, hard, by his foe. They were in big trouble if the Ronins and Troopers didn't find those orbs.            Only Rowen and Kay, besides himself, were fighting, just barely keeping the demon warriors at bay.

            Suddenly, a bright light flashed behind him.

            The Ronins and Troopers were up! In full armor with their weapons flashing, they charged into the fight.

            Sekhmet breathed a sigh of relief. It appeared that Tobraea's evil warriors were unsure of how to deal with this new onslaught. They glanced at each other once before vanishing.(1)

            Sekhmet collapsed to the floor, his whole body aching. Other than a few cuts, he appeared to be all right. Glancing around, he saw that the others hadn't faired as well.

            Rowen carried the moaning Denice in his arms and laid her beside her twin.

            Amanda was leaning against the wall clutching her side, her hand red with blood.

            Cale lay next to her, muttering incoherently. Sekhmet winced at the sight of the three black arrows protruding from his friend's shuddering body.

            Rajura was slowly getting up, holding his head and talking to Kay in Japanese.

            Sekhmet turned back to Rowen as he began to speak.

            "Amanda, you healed me?" he asked the white-winged demoness. The hazy memories of his recovery after his first fight with Tobraea were becoming clearer.

            Slowly, she turned to look at him.

            "Yes," she replied.

            "You must heal Denice. Now." Rowen could hardly keep from shouting.

            Wearily, she nodded. "Give me a moment."

            Sekhmet watched the pale girl breath deep and close her eyes in concentration.

            "Save your strength," a weak voice spoke.

            Rowen sat up suddenly as if hit by lightning.

            "_Denice?_" he cried, almost to afraid to hope.

            "Yeah. It's me." Her eyes fluttered open as his hand grasped hers.

            "But I thought…I mean, you…I…" stuttered the blue-haired boy in surprise.

            "I just hit my head. It's not that bad. I'll be fine. Help me sit up." Rowen gladly assisted her. "That's better," she continued, "Now, once I stop seeing three of you, be ready to go. Do you think we have about five minutes left?"

            Her question caught them all by surprise.

            "I forgot about that!" Rajura smacked his head, causing him to wince with the new pain.

            At the Ronins and Troopers confused glances, Kayura explained. "Now all we have to do is find the exit and we're free."

            "If we can trust Tobraea to keep a promise that is," Sage muttered to Kento.

            "Wait."

            They all glanced at Amanda expectantly.

            "I…I have to heal him." Her gaze looked on Cale.

            "Amanda," Denice frowned in protest. "Even healing at full health leaves you weak. You're in no cond—"

            "It doesn't matter. He may not last much longer." She stubbornly glared back at her other half.

            Rajura and Kay exchanged amused glances.

            "Okay, just hurry," Denice agreed, smiling.

            With an attempt to smile back, she closed her eyes and reached for Cale's forehead.

            A brilliant flash blinded everyone. When they could see again, Cale's wounds had been closed and the arrows that had once pierced him lay at his side.

            He stared down at the now unconscious girl beside him before gently picking her up in his arms.

            "Which way to the exit?" he finally spoke.

            Denice just pointed as they all stumbled out of the room.

**A/N: Yup. And...all the little notes I might like to add to her little note will be in italics….**

**            Note from Bailey-chan:**

**                Um…greetings my fellow fanfic readers… **_(she's a writer, but never mind….)_**This is "Bailey-chan" as D calls me. (Hey, what can I say, it's better than some nicknames I've been called….) Anyways, after reading through some of the chapters I've written, I've come to the conclusion that (drumroll please) **_(*does a really bad drumroll*)_**I suck as a writer!  *sniffles* However, I have a few really good excuses as to why all my chapters are so sappy and crappy:**

**                        1. This is the first fanfic I've EVER written,**

**2.  I wrote most of these chapters like two years ago,**

**3.  I was held at gunpoint by D and ordered to write the chapters or ELSE (you doubt this?) **_(I doubt this. I don't have a gun. …I do have a katana, though. *grins evilly*)****_

**4.  I've never read a fanfic before **_(Well, actually, she has…but it was  a one-shot and doesn't really count)_****

**5.  I've never seen one single Ronin Warriors episode EVER!!! **_(I'm trying to remedy that…but I don't have enough money for the DVDs, and I've only ever managed to download one episode on my computer…. Say, anyone care to donate some money for me to buy the DVDs?)****_

**      So there, are you all satisfied? **_(I'd also like to add that she can't spell. Satisfyed. Haha.)****_

**Good. I guess that's it. Farwell.**

**            ~Bailey-chan**

**So, yeah. Did ya'll get all that? Good. I'm off to find something else to type up. ^-^ Maybe I should get back to finishing the first chapter of the sequel….**

**(1) Has anyone else noticed that fighting scenes are _really_** **hard to write? *glares at them* At least Bailey-chan got stuck writing all of them. *grins* B-c: *glares at QS* Yeah. Thanks a lot. You're just jealous because you got all the "walking and discovering" chapters. QS: Dream on.**

**Thanks to:**

AnimegirlH- **Woo! New reader! *huggles* And I'd like to repeat what I put in the A/N of the first chapter: this fic is usually a once a week update, either on Friday or Saturday…Sunday, if I don't remember those two days. But I'm glad you like it. ^-^**

Wildfire Dreams- **Sekhmet rules, even if he does pretend to be an idiot half the time. ^-^ And keep hoping, you'll see what happens. *refuses to give anything away…mainly because the sequel isn't done, which means she doesn't really know***

Harry2- **Yes, he did. Can you believe it? I think it was one of my chibis. And I hope you do find them…maybe you'll be willing to…er…do something to him that I would never do. ^^ Heh. And I'm glad you like the pairing…I've been living in fear that I've been making Mary Sues and was going to be flamed for it. I know most Ronin fans are really tough on the whole Mary Sue thing. ^^ Anyway. Enough rambling, I need to get back to writing.**

**Hm…aren't I missing someone? Oh, wait. NELL! WHY DIDN'T YOU REVIEW!? (Haha, I can get away with yelling at her, since she's my friend.)**


	10. In Which a Secret is Revealed

**Disclaimer: You know, it's really hard to think of interesting ways to tell you I don't own anything.**

**Warnings: Um…none.**

**A/N: And up goes chapter ten…. Yay. ^-^**

_Chapter Ten: In Which a Secret is Revealed_

            "We have to find the others," Denice muttered, stumbling along behind Cale. "It only counts if we _all_ get out."

            "Fat chance of that," Cale grumbled back. "We're probably going to be stuck in another battle trying to get out."

            "We won't," Denice returned stubbornly. "Turn right."

            Cale immediately turned. He figured Denice would know what she was telling him when giving directions in this maze of a castle.

            "Where are we going?" he asked.

            "To the throne room," Denice replied. "Unless you rule the castle itself, that is always where you eventually end up. Go left, into that wall."

            Cale glanced behind him in bewilderment, but did as she told him. To his surprise, he passed harmlessly through the wall.

            "But you don't rule the castle," Rowen said slowly from behind Denice. "Tobraea will know by now that you have turned against him, if he hadn't known before. The castle wouldn't cooperate with you…."

            There was a slight pause. Then Denice sighed deeply and continued, "My people ruled this castle before Tobraea destroyed us. The village outside was destroyed. All but the royal family lived there."

            "Oh…," said Rowen.

            They walked in silence after that, Denice the only one talking so as to give Cale directions. They walked for barely a minute, straight through solid-looking walls, ducking behind tapestries, and even turning on actual intersections at times. When they finally came to the double doors of the throne room, they immediately saw the other group coming out opposite them.

            "Holy shit," Dais breathed upon seeing them.

            "Hold all comments until we're out," Denice grumbled, now leaning heavily on Rowen. "We only have a few minutes left to get out."

            The Masho and Dais exchanged glances before nodding. The two groups immediately took off, moving as fast as they could. Denice was once again giving Cale directions as he led the way out of the castle.

            "Only about half a minute left," Sekhmet muttered from the back of the line.

            "Almost there," Denice returned. "Left, Cale."

            Cale complied and they immediately saw the doors leading outside, wide open. They rushed forward as fast as they could, stumbling in fatigue. And just as Sekhmet made it out, the doors slammed shut behind them.

            "We're out!" Naaza breathed in relief.

            "But we must keep going," Denice snapped. "Tobraea will not keep his promise."

            We can teleport with two people at once," Anubisu said immediately.

            "It isn't safe with Amanda injured," Denice sighed, shaking her head. "We will walk to the west."

            "But the castle is north-east!" Dais protested.

            "And there is another clan to the west," Denice returned. "They have probably been attacked as well, but it is unlikely that they have all been killed. They are well-known for their abilities to hide."

            "Why would they bother helping us?" Kayura asked blankly.

            There was a slight pause.

            "You will see," Denice said simply.

            The Masho and Warlords exchange bemused glances before silently shrugging.

            "It is best we follow," Naaza murmured. "Tobraea will expect us to return to our castle."

            "Good point," Anubisu agreed. "Just remember, it's _their_ castle, not ours."

            Naaza muttered something in Japanese that made Anubisu laugh before they all began walking to the west. Denice rolled her eyes at the two of them and quickly took the lead, still leaning heavily on Rowen. They walked as quickly as they could, soon finding themselves in a thick forest. It was lucky for them that Denice was leading, or else they would have soon become hopelessly lost.

            The walk lasted hours, and the Dynasty's yellow sun was just rising back into the sky when they came upon the ruins of what had obviously once been a majestic village. Several people with thick tails and cat-like ears poking out from under their hair watched the tired group stumble past.(1) A few of them pointed at either Denice or Cale and Amanda, muttering in an odd language to their companions. In the very center was a large, torn tent being guarded by a surly-looking pair of guards.

            Pulling away from Rowen, Denice stumbled(2) forward, bowing slightly to the guards. The three held a quick conversation before the two guards bowed exceptionally low. Denice turned to Cale, motioning him forward. The two of them silently entered the tent, leaving the others standing awkwardly outside.

            "Princess!" Cale heard as soon as they entered. Cale stared for a moment at Denice, eyes wide, before turning to the man that had spoken. He was tall and tickly built, silvery hair shining from the light of the fires on either side of him.(3)

            "Lord Shi," Denice responded, bowing low. "I have come seeking help from your clan. We have just escaped from Tobraea, and we could not return to the castle quickly enough. Amanda has been injured, and she foolishly healed someone afterwards. Do any of your Strengtheners survive?"

            "A few," Lord Shi replied. "I will send Kino to fetch one immediately.(4) I can barely feel the Healer's life-force."

            Another silver-haired man immediately stood, bowed to Lord Shi, and quickly walked out of the tent.

            "We are relieved to see you alive, Princess," Lord Shi continued. "The loss of your clan must be horrible for you."

            "It is," Denice agreed. "And yet I have no time to dwell on them. Tobraea must be taken care of immediately."

            "You are strong," he sighed. "Much stronger than any in my clan, I am afraid to admit."  He paused slightly, then sighed again before continuing in a very matter-of-fact tone, "If it weren't for the needed relations between our clans, I would never have even _considered_ betrothing you to my son."

            "Ah yes," Denice said, frowning slightly. "I see no—"

            But she was cut off as Kino suddenly came storming back in, a red-haired girl behind him.

            "What are you still holding her for?" the girl asked Cale without preamble. "Lay her over by the side and step back from her."

            Cale stared wordlessly at the girl for a moment, taken aback, before doing as she said, placing Amanda gently on the ground. The girl brushed right by him, kneeling down and placing her hands over Amanda's head.

            "I introduce Kyla," Shi said, his mouth twitching slightly as a soft red light came from the girl's hands, "one of only three surviving Strengtheners in our clan, and the only one healthy enough to Strengthen the Healer."

            Cale watched Kyla work, smiling slightly as some color began to return to Amanda's pale face. Denice, though, simply waved off the introduction, eyes still on Lord Shi.

            "As I was saying before," she said, "I see no need for us to remain betrothed."

            Kino's eyes widened. He stared at Denice in some sort of hopeful surprise.

            "I agree," Shi agreed quietly. "And for more than one reason. Fighting Tobraea had already nearly destroyed my clan, despite our great magic, and it had _completely_ destroyed your clan, despite your physical strength. It is quite likely that you will soon die as well."

            "It is," Denice agreed. "But once Tobraea is destroyed, I will return to my castle, assuming I am still alive." There was a note of challenge in her voice.

            "I will not fight you. If you are indeed alive, you will have earned my respect, as well as your castle."

            ""I thank you," Denice murmured, bowing again. "Might we stay here for a night or two? We would return to their castle, but we fear Tobraea will be waiting for us."

            "Of course." Another sigh. "I never expected you to consent to being betrothed in the first place. Not with how much Kino and you…detest each other."

            "I've been looking for a way out for a long time," Denice said softly. "Unfortunately, was rather hoping for a safer way out."

            "As were we all," was the sympathetic answer. "If you would wait a moment as I have a word with Kino, I will have him show you to a tent."

            "I will be right outside with the others. Thank you for your hospitality, Lord shi." She bowed, and then turned to Cale. "Perhaps it is best if you wait with Amanda. I am sure she will want to see a familiar face once Miss Kyla is one."

            With that said, she turned to the entrance and walked calmly outside. Everyone turned to look at her.

            "We will stay here for a few days," she said. "Kino will show us to a tent in a moment."

            "Who's Kino?" Rowen asked immediately.

            "The prince of this clan," Denice responded.

            "Who would kiss you if he didn't hate you so much," came Kino's voice from behind her. She turned around just in time to see the flap of the tent close behind him. "Your friend will be out in a minute. Kyla is relatively quick in her Strengthening."

            "Quick?" Kayura asked in disbelief. "Do you realize how long she's been in there?"

            "Kayura," Denice murmured softly. "I would advise you not to talk to the prince in that manner. He has a rather nasty temper when his people are being insulted."

            "I wasn't really insulting them," Kayura said awkwardly. "I was just…commenting."

            "That was some comment," Kino said dryly. Kayura blushed.

            "Are you going to lead us to our tent or not?" Denice suddenly snapped.

            "Well, forgive me for forcing you to wait, Princess!" Kino said, giving her a short, mocking bow. "Perhaps you would like a goblet of wine to drink? Or some other delicacy?"

            "Perhaps you would like a sword up your ass?" Denice returned with a growl. "And don't call me 'Princess.' You know damn well I don't like it."

            "You haven't used that kind of language for a long time," Kino observed. "I thought you were turning into a lady for a while there."

            "We are a clan of often traitorous warriors," Denice said dryly. "Ladies don't exist in my society."

            Kino laughed slightly, shaking his head. Then he began to walk, apparently leading them to their tent.

            They walked in silence for a few minutes until Denice suddenly stumbled slightly. She was caught be Rowen, who gave her a strange look before turning his head away from her.

            "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was a princess," Denice murmured softly. "I was…I don't like to make it known when I am around people that aren't already aware of it. They tend to treat me…different."

            There was a slight pause.

            "I understand," Rowen said softly, though his voice was a little cold. "Is there anything else we should know about you?"

            "No," Denice returned quickly, thinking of the betrothal she had just broken off. "Nothing at all…."

**A/N: First: a note on Kino's name. I think I stole that from Chrono Trigger. *grins and shrugs* I couldn't think of anything to name him, but then that popped in my head, so…. Um. Yes. Do you know, Denice ending up being a princess shocked the hell outta me. ^^; This is what I get for not planning things before I write them.**

**(1) Ah, the obligated cat demons. They can be so cute sometimes. ^-^**

**(2) How many times have I used this word now? ^^; I need something else to put.**

**(3) In a cloth tent? Here's to hoping he has a lot of water handy. And some holes in the side of the tent, too, to let all that smoke out.**

**(4) Wait. Cats don't play fetch, do they? (Bad joke, I know. But I love bad jokes.)**

**Thanks to:**

Nell- **Was probably ff.net. Stupid site.**

Harry2- **Heehee, thank you! *can't wait to see what you'll do with him* And…wait, they're armored up? *blinks* Okay, let's face it. Typing up a chapter months in advance is not a good idea.**

WildfireDreams- **They better not be Mary Sues, at least. I've been spending the past few years of my life perfecting the art of _not_ writing them. ^^ Well, I have your vote, at least. ^-^ And thanks. *sends waves of wuv to you* …Um…yeah. That settles it. I am spending _way_ too much time in the wriye chat room. ^^;**


	11. In Which the Girls Like to Talk

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. Nell does. Remember?**

**Warnings: *shrugs***

**A/N: *glances at Bailey-chan* Is anyone else amused that I refer to Tobraea as "Toby" when I'm talking out loud about him? Please, like I know how to pronounce his name.**

**Oh, and I'm very, _very_ sorry about the long-ass delay! You see, my computer died a little bit before my Winter Break, and I didn't get around to trying to fix it for…well, a month. And then all I could get working was AIM. My Internet Explorer is still dead, but I installed Netscape, so all is well. I'll try to get back to a regular schedule on updating, but no promises.**

**Oh, btw: we've finished six chapters of the sequel so far. Just so ya'll know. ^_~**

~*~ is a change in POV

Thoughts are in _italics_.

_Chapter Eleven: In Which the Girls Like to Talk_

            "Fools!" Tobraea's fist slammed onto a nearby table, breaking it in half. "You let them escape _with_ our prisoners!"

            The four demon warriors stood stoically side by side, unmoving.

            "And now, AND NOW," Tobraea continued in a rage, "you report that you are unable to trace them!"

            He turned his back to them, facing the window. His dark eyes scanned the view of the outside as if hoping to spot his lost captives.

            "It was the perfect trap," he spoke again in a quieter voice, "The impossible maze should have snared them. How could they have escaped?" He was almost begging the still silent warriors to answer him.

            They continued to stare, unmoving.

            Tobraea sighed. With a wave of a hand, he dismissed them. They disappeared as if they were never there.

            Alone with his thoughts, Tobraea glared again at the open window.

            "Denice," he snarled. "I know this was your doing. Only you knew the way out of my perfect trap. Traitor. But I still have hope left. As long as the others trust you, I might yet win this battle. Even Amanda does not know the darkness in your soul. Even you don't know. But I know." He laughed, the noise echoing through the room, invading hidden corners and hiding the sun's last rays of light. "Your friends," he spat the word, "might have defeated only four of my warriors. But you will never be able to defeat all of them. They obey me and me alone. It was my gift!" his voice raised. "My gift from the one I serve! I am to rule the Dynasty and no one will be able to stop me! No healing angel or dark princess. Their forces will fail. I will not be defeated!"

            Smiling, Tobraea lifted a golden goblet of blood. Toasting, he drank deep and whispered, "So, what now will you do?"

~*~

            Denice shivered in the early morning's cool air.

            "Cold?" Rowen stepped beside her, following her gaze toward the direction of the castle.

            She frowned. "No."

            "What's wrong then?" His question floated between them.

            "I felt…I…nothing." She abruptly turned and walked back into the tent. "I'll wear a cloak next time," she mumbled, closing the flap behind her.

            Rowen, now alone, looked again towards the castle and Tobraea's evil, before sighing and walking back into his own tent.

            An hour later, they were all assembled together, seated around a table that had been hastily rebuilt for the occasion.

            Lord Shi's summons had included the prospect of breakfast. Kento and Shuu's eager stomach rumblings brought blushes to their faces and smiles all around. At last when their breakfast of fruit, bread, wine, and a type of meat porridge that no one could identify, was completed, the meeting began.

            Lord Shi cleared his throat and gestured to Kino, who in turn sat up straighter and spoke.

            "We have all agreed that Tobraea must be either destroyed or somehow banished. It is your task to do this. We will aid you in whatever way we can."

            Denice looked at the faces around her. The Ronins and Troopers looked hopeful, as did the Warlords and Masho minus Dais, Rajura, Kay, and Kayura. It figured. Amanda still looked slightly tired, but definitely much stronger than the day before. She caught Denice's questioning look and nodded slightly.

            She was ready. Denice knew that Cale would continue to watch out for her, a thought which also comforted her. They would need a Healer where they were going.

            Denice suddenly realized that Lord Shi and Kino were waiting for her response. _Who put me in charge?_(1)

            "We thank you. We will need all the aid you have to give us. Amanda and I have discussed a plan to defeat Tobraea and his demon warriors. But we need to find a few things." She turned to Kayura and Kay. "You both have the staffs of the Ancients and both of the Spring Ogres?" They nodded. "The Jewels of Life?"

            Kayura glanced at Kay. "Mine was lost. I…I have no idea where it is.

            Kay quickly responded, "Mine was also lost."

            Denice had expected this.

            "Okay, than we'll have to find the Jewels and bring Anubis back to life."(2)

            Everyone blinked at her.

            "Do _what_?" Ryo and Ryou said together.

            Immediately, the table's occupants erupted with talk and exclamations. Only Denice, Amanda, Lord Shi, and Kino remained silent.

            Finally, Amanda spoke up.

            "Calm down. We'll explain everything." When everyone was once again seated and quiet, she continued. "The Kayuras cannot bear all three at once.(3) We can bring Anubis back to life, but only for a few hours, by going to the place he died. Ryo, you and Ryou must transform into Inferno and Kikotei, and the Kayuras must call on the staffs. The armor orbs, placed on top of the Jewels of Life, must also be present. It is a very difficult undertaking, I must admit. But by giving some of my life force to allow Anubis and Shuten to take form, they can help us destroy Tobraea. I've never seen it done, but the greatest of my people, the Heailurei, our leader, was said to bright back to life our most powerful ancestors when needed."

            After a pause, Denice spoke again.

            "Lord Shi, can you send someone to help us find the Jewels of Life?"

            The old leader grunted. "Kino knows of one of these Jewels."

            Kino glanced at his father, and then nodded. "Above our cemetery, many miles to the west, I once saw a red jewel hanging from a high cliff. It was a year or so ago No one else saw this phenomenon. I have almost forgotten it." He looked at Denice and then to Amanda. "I will take you there," he said slowly.

            Lord Shi stood.

            "Then it is agreed. We will prepare food and packs for your journey. May it indeed be successful." He  concluded by signing the clan's symbol for "Blessing"—clasping his arms and bowing to them. He hurriedly left and rushed to his own private tent.

            Kino sighed. "He thinks I will die on this quest. And the royalty of my people will fail."

            Denice sniffed disdainfully.

            "I wouldn't count on it. You're being accompanied by nineteen warriors and one healer. We'll go together to find this Jewel and then separate to seek out the other. You shouldn't—"

            Denice was interrupted by a loud snore.

            She turned to find Sekhmet snoozing in his chair, a blissful smile on his face."

            "SEKHMET!" Dais yelled loudly.

            At the sound of his name, the boy jumped up, his green hair wild and his eyes blinking.

            "Were you sleeping the whole time?" Cale demanded.

            "Ah…no…. I remember something about bringing Anubis back and…ah…well…I, uh…. Aren't we going somewhere to find something and—"

            "Never mind!" Cale rolled his eyes in disgust.

            "So, what are we doing?" Sekhmet tried to ask nonchalantly.

            Now Denice rolled her eyes.

            "We're leaving before nightfall, so get ready."

            "Okay." Denice didn't have to look to see Sekhmet's confused face.

            _We should leave him here_ she thought angry.

            "I think we're down to eighteen warriors and one healer now," Kino said, chuckling.

            Denice glared at him before turning and walking away. She felt Amanda's gaze on her and knew that the girl was laughing at her.

            "Shut up," she muttered to her twin.

            Amanda tried to appear confused.

            "I didn't say anything."

            "Oh yes you did," Denice growled.

            "I did not."

            "Did too."

            "You both sound just like humans, always arguing," Cale grinned. Rowen chuckled.

            Now both girls turned on them, frowning.

            Amanda caught Cale's gaze before blushing and looking away.

            "I have to go pack," Kino suddenly muttered as he walked away.

            Denice quickly looked from the retreating figure to Amanda's flushed face to Cale's arched eyebrow. Shrugging, she smiled as she took Rowen's hand and entered her tent.

**A/N: …Which I really think shouldn't be so close to the meeting table…thing. ^^; Anyway. Notes.**

**(1) Who indeed? Because it sure as hell wasn't me. *glares at Bailey-chan* …Though I guess it makes sense. I mean, Denice is the only one that actually knows anything about Lord Shi and Kino….**

**(2) She said as if it were an everyday occurrence. Let's work on Elvis next, shall we?**

**(3) Not that she'd be able to use the Jewel of Life, anyway. ^^; And add something else to that: her jitte.**

**Thanks to:**

Nell- **Yeah, yeah. Of course I can't. Now, hush. You're making our plans public.**

Harry2- **Yeah, Denice being a princess was definitely unexpected. Even to the writers. ^^ Anyway. Don't drop the narrator in too often…there won't be anything left soon.**

WildfireDreams- **I somehow doubt anyone expected the princess thing. ^^**

AnimegirlH- **I'm glad you like it. And thanks for the compliment on the plot twists…we try our best. **


	12. In Which a Lot of Random Stuff Happens

**Disclaimer: Let's see…. Ten dollars. A shitload of stuffed animals. 300-something books. CDs. Folders. Paper. Fanfic ideas. Action figures of Talpa, Ryo in Inferno, Ryo in Wildfire, and Kento. Hey, I'm getting close!**

**Warnings: None.**

**A/N: Hm…. Nice notes, eh? ^^;**

_Chapter Twelve: In Which a Lot of Random Stuff Happens_

"Do you think he really might die?" Rowen asked, leaning back on one arm.

            "There is a very likely chance that he will once we go up against Tobraea," Denice replied, standing at the entrance of the tent and watching the people outside. "These people are not particularly well-known for their abilities to fight, though their magic is great. However, he will have all of us to protect him when he needs it. And I will not let him die."

            "Funny, you two don't seem as if you like each other very much."

            "We don't. But he is a prince, and many of his people are still alive. Since he is the last of the royal line, his death would bring chaos among the survivors."(1)

            The was a slight pause.

            "And what about you?" Rowen asked softly. "Will you die to protect him?"

            "If it is necessary," Denice murmured. "I am the last of my people. I am not needed."

            Rowen sighed and stood up, walking over to the melancholic girl and wrapping his arms around her waist as if to comfort her.

            "You _are_ needed," he whispered softly. "_I_ need you."

            Denice smiled softly, turning around to face him. She said nothing, only wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning against him. Words weren't needed—they both understood. Perhaps _too_ well.

            "Is everyone ready?" Kino's voice rang out through the still air. There were soft murmurs of assent and several nods of heads in reply. "Then let's go."

            Kino turned sharply on his heel, leading the way towards the cliffy horizon. Those left of the village watched with grim faces as the warriors (…and healer…and mage…) marched away.

            Sekhmet yawned widely, following at the end of the line. He had figured that it was best if he stayed as far away from Denice as possible on this little trip. The black-winged princess didn't seem very happy with him for some reason. He guessed the sleeping-during-an-important-meeting thing had confirmed her suspicions that he really was a Class A Moron.

            The decision only caused him to pout, angrily kicking a rock ahead of him as he walked. He knew he could act pretty stupid sometimes (okay, most of the time), but Denice didn't need to _hate_ him for it. The truth was that the idiot thing was only really a mask. The other Warlords had become accustomed to his random idiocy, so he continued to act the part. _Why_ was Denice so blind?

            He gave the rock a particularly hard kick and watched in surprise as it flew forward. It hit one of the light blue armored boys and bounced harmlessly off his foot with a loud clunking sound. The boy must have felt it, though, because he stopped suddenly and looked behind him.

            "Oops," Sekhmet said softly, and the boy burst out laughing.

            A few hours passed before Kino suddenly stopped, pointing straight above him.

            "There," he stated, eyeing the jewel that was hanging off a cliff a good twenty feet above his head. "There was no way for me to reach it when I first saw it, or I would have taken it to my father before."

            "This is it?" Kayura asked blankly. "I mean, no traps, or—"

            "I've never tried to get it before. There might be."

            "Well, it's about time somebody found out," Denice said, spreading her wings out. "Anything in particular I should know about the thing?"

            "It's called the Jewel of Life," Kino responded brightly.

            Denice gave him a dirty look before suddenly taking off with one powerful beat of her wings. She was hovering before the jewel in seconds, and she gently lifted it from its position before gently floating back down.

            "That was simple," she said.

            "Yes," Kino agreed, glaring at her. "If you can fly."

            "We should get going," Amanda said hurriedly as Denice's mouth opened to retort. "It's a decently long walk…."

            "Can't we just teleport there?" Dais asked grumpily. "Or did Tobraea take over our castle too?"

            "The Ronins and Troopers cannot move about the Dynasty as well as you can," Denice replied, a single eyebrow raised. "And Tobraea would notice."

            "Damn," was Dais' response.

            With a slight laugh, Denice brushed passed him as she waved her hand to signal Kino to return to the lead. He did so with an exaggerated roll of his eyes.

            As Denice passed by him, Sekhmet glanced at the jewel hanging from Denice's hands. His eyes widened as he recognized the pendant, but where was it….

            And it suddenly hit him. He quickly pulled the chain from around his neck and ran to Denice. When he skidded to a stop in front of her, he immediately realized that she was now utterly convinced that he was a complete lunatic.

            Resisting the urge to scowl, he instead pasted a smirk on his face and held his Jewel of Life out to Denice.

            "Where'd you find this?" Denice asked, snatching it from him.

            "In your graveyard when I was on watch that night," Sekhmet replied, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. "I don't know why, but I forgot about it until tonight."

            "You weren't _wearing_ it, were you?"

            "Uh…."

            Denice gave him an exasperated look.

            "What?" Sekhmet asked, sounding rather panicked. "I'm not going to turn into a frog or a bat or something, am I?"

            "No," Denice sighed, rolling her eyes. "That's why you've been sleeping so much, idiot."

            "…Oh," Sekhmet said sheepishly.

            Everybody laughed.

            "To the castle," Kayura grinned after the laughter died down. "Shuten will be coming back to life!"

            "For a few hours," Denice agreed softly.

            "A few hours are better than none," Kay murmured, walking passed everyone. "And at least he'll help us."

            Denice glanced around at everyone, shrugging in confusion at Kayura's comment. Then they all followed Kayura to begin the trek back to the castle.

            "What'd he do? Drown?" Denice asked sarcastically, looking down from the bridge they were all standing on.

            "Ha ha," Kayura said dryly. "So what do we do?"

            "Well, it might be helpful if you had the staffs…."

            Kayura glared at her as she and Kay called the staffs to them.

            "Good job," Denice muttered.

            "Denice…," Amanda said softly, "we might want to get this ceremony going…."

            "Yeah, yeah," Denice grumbled. "Put the Jewels of Life on the bridge somewhere, and everyone but Kay, Kayura, and the Ryos make a circle around them…."

            "What about you and Amanda?" Cale interrupted.

            "Erm…oh yeah," Denice murmured sheepishly. "Amanda needs to use her power on the jewels…." She waved Amanda forward. Amanda went to the jewels and placed a hand on either one. "Okay now, Kayura, Kay, stand by the jewel from your dimension and hold the staff over it…. Ryos, both of you form the white armors…."

            "With which armors?" Ryo asked.

            "The Warlords, of course," Denice replied as if it should have been obvious. "Just nobody be shocked when the Spring orbs disappear…."

            Ryo and Ryou glanced at each other for a moment before shrugging and calling on Inferno and Kikotei. In a few seconds, they were both fully armored, and everyone was staring at Denice again.

            "Kayura, Kay, concentrate on Anubis and Shuten returning to life. Amanda, use your power on the jewels. Ryos, as soon as the rings on the staff begin clanging quickly and loudly, I want you to release your armors and return to the red armors. The rest of you, concentrate on them reviving as well." She paused slightly. "I will watch.":

            Denice stepped back a few steps, eyes traveling over everybody. They all had their eyes closed and seemed deep in concentration.

            "How long will this take?" Kino asked her softly.

            "I don't know," Denice returned simply.

            "Let's hope it won't be too long," Kino murmured. "This will not remain hidden from Tobraea's knowledge for long. If they come…."

            "Then we will have to hold them off for as long as we can."

            "That won't be very long."

            "No, it won't. But we must try. The longer we hold out, the better it is, and the more chance they will have at winning."

            "I am not a fighter, Denice," Kino sighed. "I am only a magician. I could die before I even cast one spell."

            "You won't," Denice returned easily, confidently. She ignored Kino's disbelieving stare. "You won't, because I won't let you. You are needed, else your people…."

            "I know," Kino said. "You will protect me until you are dead. And I will aim my spells at those attacking you, protecting you as best I can."

            Denice only nodded, watching vaguely as the rings on the staff began to move, clanging softly together. It wasn't loud, and it wasn't fast, but at least it was beginning.

            Though it had better progress soon, because a familiar laughter was suddenly ringing through the air. Tobraea had come.

**A/N: I love cliffhangers. I also love not writing fight scenes. Sue me, I'm lazy.**

**Um…a little note on this chapter. As I read over it, it occurred to me that I should probably have made the Jewels of Life have a negative reaction when Denice grabbed them to back up Tobraea's comment about the "darkness" in her soul. *shrugs* Oh well.**

**(1) Note to self: "Surivovors" is not a word! *glares at the paper***

**Thanks to:**

Harry2- **Uh. I am? Or, rather, we are? ^^; Okay, so I haven't read these chapters in…forever. But that's besides the point. Darkness? What darkness? I have no idea what you're talking about. *attempts to pretend she's telling the truth* Yay! No more announcer! Eh…forgive me for not dancing, but my knees hurt. ^^;**

AnimegirlH- **Thankies for the lack of complaint. And…my computer is evil. Pure evil. But oh well. And…no, they apparently can't come to life forever. *sniffles* But then again…who knows, ne? ^^ Hm…and I'm happy you like how the plot's going. I'm a bit iffy on it myself, but…. Eh, whatever.**

WildfireDreams­**- So I've been reminded. Thrice.**


	13. In Which There is a Really Neat Battle

**Disclaimer: If I owned them, I certainly wouldn't be putting this up on ff.net.**

**Warnings: um…are there ever any warnings in here?**

**A/N: Wee! A chapter! It took me forever to type this one up…I kept making all these typos and ugh! Twas annoying.**

_Chapter Thirteen: In Which There is a Really Neat Battle_

            Kino's glance flitted nervously from one demon warrior to the next. They appeared absolutely unmovable, unbeatable. Denice, at his side, scowled at them, her wings opening and her hands on her katanas. The Ronins/Troopers and Warlords/Masho instinctively drew a tighter circle around the five working the ceremony. Kino wished they would hurry it up. He strained his sensitive ears, but even he couldn't detect an increase in the staff's soft hum.

            Kino sighed. He knew it would come to this. In his heart he knew, as did his father. A fight against Tobraea was inevitable. In a way, Kino was glad that he was the one helping Denice and her small band of warriors. He was one of his clan's most powerful magic-users. None of them were especially gifted in war-magic, but Kino supposed that he had a better chance than any of his people. Magic flowed through the blood of the Diruthicher. It gave each of them special gifts, as natural as breathing. Some like Kyla, were Strengtheners. Some, like Lord Shi, could control weather.  Kino himself was an Illusionist. But only those of royal blood also possessed the gift of _Kitai-owari_; hope's end. Kino's thoughts kept returning to it. Would he risk using it to protect the rest of them? he shook his head in self doubt. He didn't know. And Tobraea would force him to make this decisions sooner than he wished; there he stood glaring at them.(1)

            "Well, it appears that you have managed to defeat yourselves for me. With your pathetic attempt to give life to your 'hero', you give me time to kill you one by one!" Tobraea's deep voice gave way to an eerie cackling that made Denice shiver.

            Trying to appear unaffected, she gestured to Kino and stepped forward. "Tobraea, do you honestly think we would attempt this without help from old allies?"

            "Allies? You have none! Unless you are referring to that useless, alley-cat excuse for a fighter!" Tobraea screamed, enraged.(2)

            "You may have defeated my village," Kino spat, "but my people will have their revenge!"

            At his words, Tobraea and his demon warriors were suddenly aware that they were surrounded by nearly twenty more fighters. All had cat ears like Kino's. Their eyes glowed with furiously brilliant light.

            The Ronins, Troopers, Warlords, and Masho gazed with amazement at them. Denice shared a secret smile with Kino. His magic was working.

            "So. Do you still think we will be so easily defeated?" Denice taunted.

            Tobraea stared at her in disbelief for a few seconds until an animal-like bellow fell from his foaming mouth.

            "Attack!" he screamed. "I will rule!"

            As the two sides came together, weapons flying, Kino backed away. He ordered his illusions to run forward into the fight. Concentrating his hardest, he gave them swords that felt solid and lightning-quick maneuvers. No matter how many times they were hit, no blood was drawn. But neither was the enemy wounded. Kino glanced at the glowing magical artifacts. The staffs had begun to vibrate in the Kayuras' hands and their noise grew slightly louder. But they needed more time.

            Sage stared in awe at the cat-eared warriors. One blocked  a deadly swipe that would have cut Rowen in two had he not done so. But somehow, no matter how fast they could avoid the demons' blows or strike back, they couldn't gain the advantage. Neither side had been seriously wounded as of yet. As his no-datchi managed to pierce a Yokeuchi's armor, Sage smiled a satisfied grin. Now why couldn't these mysteriously agile warriors of Kinos do the same?

            Cye had also noticed this peculiarity. He and Shin stood back to back, each battling an enormous Mizuchaki. They were getting nowhere. Tobraea, over to Cye's right, fight a Kento/Shu duo, even seemed distressed. The cat-eared warriors constantly jumped from one combat to the next, never really defeating anyone, but definitely getting in the demons' way.

            Just on the outside of their fringe stood Kino. His eyes were closed and his head was bowed. Cale shook his head in disgust. He knew the "magician" feared for his life, but he had thought him brave enough to actually take part in the battle. Especially when his kinsmen were fighting. Maybe that was why they were actins so strange. Denice had said that they weren't great fighters; maybe they didn't know how. At least they weren't cowering in the Kino.

            As if in response to Cale's mental criticism, Kino suddenly stood up and charged towards Tobraea. Denice, seeing him out of the corner of her eye, lunged after him.

            "No! Kino, come back!"

            He didn't even hear her. His sole purpose was bent on his mission. Tobraea swung his jitte hard into Shu, knocking both him and Kento to the ground. Then he turned swiftly to face this new attack.

            Just short of being inside Tobraea's sword ranged, Kino stopped and stood staring in front of him.

            Tobraea stared back until his left eyebrow started twitching and his face contorted with laughter.

            "So your first and only bout of courage could only take you this far? Kneel so I can put an end to your misery!"

            Kino continued to stared at him, unmoving. Slowly his arms spread out alongside of him. Tobraea watched unmoving, unable to stop him.

            "You killed many of my people," Kino spoke, his voice thick. "You destroyed my village. Now you will get what you deserve. You know I have great power."

            Denice watched in sick fascination. Every instinct was screaming at her to protect him, but she couldn't move.

            "I am no coward," Kino continued. "Not like you. I know what you fear most."

            Tobraea continued to stare.

            Kino felt himself entering his mind and searching it. He saw Tobraea's fears: defeat, banishment to the Outlands, the displeasure of his Master. Deeper, deeper he looked, until he found it.

            Kino smiled. So simple a fear, and yet an incredible weakness. Tobraea was afraid of drowning.(3)

            "Very well," Kino said slowly. "Let there be water!"

            Tobraea stared in horror. He could hear a distant rumbling. It was getting closer and closer. That sorcerous(4) , alley-cat stood in front of him with his eyes closed again. Tobraea was about to drive his jitte through the miserable creature's chest when thunder boomed over him. He looked around anxiously at his demon warriors to see them still engaged in combat.

            "You fools! Can't you hear it?" he cried to them.

            The rumbling got closer. It sounded like a mighty river, a powerful ocean. Tobraea had just started to run away from Kino when the wave broke on him. Foam swirled around him and heavy rain fell down. Rapids pulled him under as he fought his way to the surface. But he was sinking. He could not keep his head above water. He swallowed more and more. He could feel the saltiness of it burning down his throat. He had no more air left! He opened his mouth to scream in panic and fear. Finally, he let himself go….

            The fighting still continued, only now with the absence of Kino's cat-warriors. They were there, and then they were gone. The Ronins and Warlords battled harder. Their only hope was the slowly increasing clanking of the staffs and the silent, concentrating faces of their friends behind them.

            "Denice!" Rowen called, blocking a savage blow.

            "Yeah?" Denice was engaged in her own furious combat with a Tsukishimo.

            "What's going on with Tobraea?"

            Denice glanced quickly over at the demon leader's kneeling form.(5) He lay shivering, his hands tightly clasped together ever time a soft gasp broke from his mouth. She smiled grimly, having seen this condition before in many of Kino's victims.

            "That's Kino's doing," she said. At Rowen's incredulous look, she grinned after ducking under another of her opponent's swings. "Kino can find out what people are most afraid of and create that illusion so only they can see it. It won't really kill him, but as long as Tobraea thinks it's real it'll buy us some time."

            "And we could use some of that."

            Denice grunted affirmatively.

            Tobraea was floating. Floating through nothingness. He was dead, finished, destroyed.  The Dynasty's defenders had won. He let himself float, awaiting the anger of his master against him for his failure. But still, a small part of his mind screamed at him that he still had a chance. He didn't know how that was possible since the cat-eared magic user had called water to drown him. But wait. Something triggered in his brain. When they fought the magic users' village, this one was not there. But the others, though they had great power, their magic was not directed towards harming their enemies. It was not offensive. Not one of the villagers could create fire or water or any other attack against them. So what, was this Kino somehow special, or….

The ground around the jewels and armor orbs began to shake. The rings on the staff started to spin and clang together. The battling warriors stopped to watch in anticipation for what would come.

            As if just noticing the absence of their leader's command, the demon warriors stood still and silent. The armor-less Warlords prepared to receive their orbs again as the Ryos would change to their red armors. Everyone waited.

Tobraea struggled in his mind. Part of him said that this was real, he was dying. Part of him said no, it an illusion; he was on solid, dry ground. He could still win the Dynasty for his own. For a moment, the sides drew equal. Then the greed, the anger, the hatred in him burst open. It was a trick! He would not be deceived, he would conquer! Forcing himself to trust that the ground was safe under him, he tried to stand. Still grasping his jitte, he fought to find balance. He opened his eyes. He could see! There was no ocean of deadly water around him. Smirking, he caught sight of Kino and lunged. Payback time.

            The clanging noise continued intensely. Ryo looked at his Japanese twin. Was it time? The other Ryou gestured towards the Kayuras and Amanda. They were all deep in concentration. Ryou mouthed back, _Not yet_. Ryo shrugged. It would have to be soon.

            Kino's startled gasp came too late. By the time Denice turned around, he was already pitched forward and clutching his gut. Tobraea smiled at her.

            _Now what? _his smile silently said to her.

            "Now you will die!" she screamed at him as she attacked.

            The Kayuras could barely hold onto the vibrating staffs. Amanda, in between them, frowned slightly as she concentrated all her energy into reviving the Anubis's. Soon she began to see memories of him from the nearby Warlords. She saw him fighting and laughing. His defiance to Talpa, and his final moments before death. Slowly, she began to see the memories through his eyes. Now they were taking two forms. One spoke in Japanese, and the other in English. She could almost see him; two people in one. Suddenly, more than anything else, she wanted them to exist. She willed them to life. The armor orbs faded and then disappeared altogether. The blood red of the jewels began to shine. The staffs' rings no longer clanked. It was now a steady ring, like a bell's echoing chimes. The Ryos, without even a look, simultaneously changed into their red armors. Amanda surrounded herself with a bright light. In that moment, two holes appeared in the air above the Jewels. They began to take the shape of humans. Slowly, the onlookers could make out the features of the armored and obviously strong men. Their eyes blinked and their mouths moved, forming the words of an unrecognizable chant.(6)

            In a last attempt to stick her katana down his slimy throat, Denice was blocked and flung to the ground. She slowly looked toward her friends for help. Tobraea followed her gaze to the glowing rebirth of Anubis and Shuten. With a sickening crush, he stopped on her already battered weapon.

            Denice knew she would die. And what was worse: she had failed to protect Kino. The ceremony's onlookers were too hypnotized by the Anubis' dazzling entry into this world to hear her. Amanda was too concentrated on giving her life force to them to feel her twin's distress. Kino was dying, might already be dead. She had failed. Tobraea pointed his jitte down at her.

            Kino stirred. He had no strength left. Not for illusions; not for fighting. He saw Denice with Tobraea towering above her. Once his betrothed, he had never really gotten to know her; he wondered if anyone really did. He was too wake to save her. He had nothing left. Nothing except…his Kitai-owari. His gift; hopes end. And this indeed was the end of hope, if there ever was one. He sighed. So be it.

            Expecting to feel the thrust of Tobraea's jitte, Denice was surprised to feel the gentle kiss of raindrops. Opening her eyes, she saw that it was not drops of rain that fell, but fire. It was not hot, but rather cool. looking around, the world seemed to be full of falling sparks like fireflies.

            Tobraea shrieked in horror. Denice turned to see why. Floating, at least twenty feet tall above Kino's body, stood a lion. Its golden mane shown bright as the sun. Its roar deafened her and stirred the last of her hope. It pounced with a powerful spring of its hindquarters. Mouth open, it devoured Tobraea in one bit. The wind and firedrops blew around it, as it turned to smoke and settled back to the ground.

            Kino's hoarse gasp of joy filled the silence that followed. "The guardian! I have seen the ancient guardian of my people! It protects us…still."

            As Kino slipped into darkness, he told himself that it was over, even as he felt the hands of the Healer cradle his head.__

****

**A/N: Wee, that was fun. Ignore any typos please, I typed this up first thing in the morning…before I even fully woke up. But wasn't the chapter fun? *huggles it* Oh, yes, and this is a bit disjointed, isn't it? Runs kinda like a suspenseful movie, ne? ^^**

**Oh, and one extra little note: I only have the next chapter typed up, and then there's a chapter and epilogue after that…. And, unfortunately, the sequel is very unfinished, I'm only about three quarters of the way through chapter seven right now. Looking at where we are in the story…I think we might have a few more chapters left to go. So, until we're done the sequel, I won't have a title for it, and I won't be able to put it up…. We'll try to get it done as soon as possible, though. And, if chapter fifteen's up late, blame it on my mad procrastinating skills. ^^;**

**(1) *sticks tongue out at B-c* Mine's still longer!**

**(2) Somebody needs to get this guy some anger management classes.**

**(3) Yes, I know you're probably wondering why he's afraid of drowning. Look at it this way. He used to be a spirit, so he didn't have to breath or anything. Now he's got a physical form. And if that stops working? Bye bye, Tobraea!**

**(4) Why in hell doesn't this appear in my spell check? *pouts***

**(5) Or, as Bailey-chan put it: "at the demon leader's (What's the word that means laying down) form." I filled in a word. No, kneeling does not mean laying down in my dictionary.**

**(6) 204 words. Damn it! She beat me! *pouts***

**Thanks to:**

Duh­**- Forgive my bad sense of humor, but I had to put that. And, no I haven't seen him….**

WildfireDreams- **Well, _some_body is in love.**

AnimegirlH- **What fun is a fic without a cliffhanger? How else do you expect me to keep people wanting to read it?**

MerryPenDragon- **Ooh. New person. I can't say I've ever seen the crossover that you're talking about…but then, I was in the HP fandom a couple years ago, SO…. Anyway. Before I forget. =þ The Masho are _so_ much better. Except nobody's better than Rowen. Oh, and a little note: I don't use my spellchecker. Reason being that it puts so many things as wrong (your name, jitte, Ryou, things like that), and it drives me up the wall because I'm too lazy to hit the "Add" button.**

Harry2- **YES! DIE, NARRATOR, DIE! … *coughs* Um, yeah. I…don't have any ointment for my knees, I'm afraid. And I also don't know where to get some. And I also don't have any money. Hence my problem. ^^;**


	14. In Which There is a Lot of Talking

**Disclaimer: Hn.**

**Warnings: Nothing, really.**

**A/N: Gah! Stupid, stupid electrician guy, and stupid, stupid computer! I had everything typed up and was about to post this…and then the stupid electrician guy flicked the wrong switch! And when my computer finally started again, Word hadn't recovered my chapter! GAH!**

**On the bright side…I finished chapter seven. Now Bailey-chan must finish chapter eight, and I can take another three weeks to do chapter nine. ^_~**

_Chapter Fourteen: In Which There is a Lot of Talking_

            There was a stunned silence after the sudden disappearance of Tobraea. Nobody moved except Amanda, who was busy trying to heal Kino and was ignoring everything around her.

            Minutes passed. Then suddenly, slowly, Denice stood up, weaving unsteadily on her foot. After regaining her balance, she silently walked over to Kino and Amanda, where she knelt down, staring vaguely at Kino's face.

            "Denice?" Rowen asked softly.

            "I couldn't protect him," she murmured absently, still staring. "I vowed to give my life protecting him if it was needed, and I failed." She paused, breathing deeply. Then she looked away from Kino. "I have never failed before. Of all the things to be the first…."

            Shaking her head, Denice stood up and faced Tobraea's remaining warriors. The nine armored people shared nervous glances before suddenly disappearing.

            "Now what do we do?" Kayura asked, looking around at everyone. "We spent all that time getting these two back, and now Tobraea is dead, and his warriors are gone. Is there a way to send us back or something?"

            "No," Denice answered almost immediately, turning back to Amanda and Kino. "You are stuck here, just like Amanda was when she came to help me. I suggest, however, that you all return to Kayura's castle for now."

            "What are you and Amanda going to do?" Cale asked softly.

            "We will return Kino's body to his clan," Denice returned. "Tobraea's attack was enough to kill him as it was, but for the fact that Amanda would be able to heal him. After that last spell—"

            However, she was unexpectedly cut off by Amanda's soft voice.

            "He is still alive," she said.

            "_What?_" Denice asked, eyes widening in disbelief. "But he _can't_ be alive! You know as well as I do that that damned spell of his killed him! It doesn't matter how fast you got to healing him!"

            "He is still alive," Amanda repeated softly. "But I am not sure I did him a favor by saving him. His magic remains as strong as ever, but he will need a Strengthener by him all the time, most likely for the rest of his life. The clan may still be thrown in chaos for lack of a suitable leader."

            "Not if _I_ have anything to say about it," Denice scowled. "Kino was nearly killed while destroying Tobraea."

            "We will go together then." Amanda stood up, smiling.

            "No we won't. _You_ are going to Kayura's castle to rest after all you've done today. I will go on my own and explain everything to Lord Shi. Then I'm coming back, and you sure as hell better be resting."

            "All right," Amanda sighed. "And mind your language!"

            "Yeah, yeah," Denice grumbled, lifting Kino and spreading her wings. "See you when I get back!"

            She took off immediately, flying in the direction of Kino's remaining clan.

            "Now what?" Dais asked.

            "We go to the castle," Kayura replied immediately, rolling her eyes. "Amanda needs to rest, and we need to relax."

            "What about the rest of Tobraea's men?" Touma asked thoughtfully, frowning around at everyone.  "Shouldn't we find out where they went, so we know whether or not to be on guard?"

            "They'll be somewhere in the Dynasty. We'll know if they decide to jump dimensions, because we'll jump with them," Kayura returned, stretching slightly.

            "And they've probably gone to the Outlands," Cale added. "They know we won't follow them there."

            "The Outlands?" Rowen asked blankly.

            "It's this part of the Dynasty with absolutely _nothing_ in it," Cale replied.

            "Except spirits," Sekhmet piped up. "Remember, we banished those nether spirits there?" Well, not quite banished, they asked us if they could go, but…."

            "Enough, Sekh," Cale rolled his eyes. "Let's just get into the castle. We need to catch up Anubis and…uh…"

            "Shuten Doji?" Sekhmet supplied.

            "Well, whatever his name is," Cale agreed.

            "Shuten Doji," Sekhmet repeated, grinning when Cale glared at him. "Weren't we going to the castle?"

            Cale rolled his eyes again. "Let's just go," he grumbled, turning to the castle and beginning to walk.

            "Hey, Cale, why don't you just teleport?" Sekhmet called after him. "It's a lot faster!"

            "I feel like walking."

            Sekhmet glanced around at everyone, shrugging.

            "I'll be in my room," he said, "to see if my snakes got loose again."

            "When you're doing checking on your snakes, go back to the room we took Amanda and Strata to that first day," Kay told him. "We'll be waiting for you there."

            "All right," Sekhmet agreed before suddenly disappearing.

            "I'll walk with Cale," Amanda murmured, smiling shakily at the remaining people. "Ronins, Troopers, you might want to follow us." And she took off immediately, rushing after Cale.

            The remaining Warlords and Masho then disappeared, leaving the Ronins and Troopers alone.

            "Well, let's go," Rowen said.

            "Hold on, Rowen," Ryo ordered, glaring at his friend. "What makes you so sure we can really trust them? We barely know them!"

            "They got you out of the dungeons, didn't they?" Rowen returned, raising an eyebrow at him. "And Denice and Amanda certainly trust them. Besides that, we already _know_ they're not working for Tobraea, so they want to be sure they're gone as much as we do. Even if they are still evil, they'll at least work with us until there's no threat to their power."

            "But if they're _our_ enemies, wouldn't they want to work with Tobraea to get rid of us?" Ryou asked, backing his counterpart up.

            "Not necessarily," Touma answered him before Rowen could get a chance to. "Tobraea and his men are a lot stronger than the Warlords and Masho. They wouldn't have any reason to work together, because Tobraea and them have everything they need, what with Denice's castle."

            "And if they turn against us after we defeat Tobraea's men?" Ryo asked.

            "If we all fight them together, we'll probably be too weak to fight each other afterwards," Rowen rturned.

            "They'll have to let us go," Touma agreed.

            "And we'll have one up on them, since I doubt Denice is likely to leave Rowen," Sage added dryly.

            "Doesn't mean she'll fight with us," Rowen muttered. "Not with the way Amanda and Cale are heading. She won't want to betray either me _or_ Amanda, so she'll probably just stay out of it."

            "I doubt we have anything to worry about anyway," Cye sighed. "Kayura isn't likely being controlled by anyone else, least of all the Warlords."

            "And we know we can trust Anubis," Kento added.

            Neither Ryo nor Ryou looked convinced.

            "Look, let's just go along with them for now, all right?" Shin grumbled, absently rolling his eyes. "We need to get rid of Tobraea's men, at least. They'll get rid of the Warlords and Masho first, and then come after us. Either way, we'll probably be dead eventually."

            "He's right, you know!" Shu grinned. "Now can we just _go_? They might have something to eat, and I'm starving!"

            Kento nodded emphatically in agreement.

            "All right, let's go," Ryo muttered, sighing. "But if I'm right, don't say I didn't tell you so…."

            Everyone but Ryou rolled their eyes as they ran after Amanda and Cale, who were way ahead of them.

            "Can we knock them out until we've gotten rid of Tobraea's men?" Touma asked Rowen softly as they ran for the castle.

            "We'd better not," Rowen muttered back, chuckling lightly. "We need them, not to mention their armors."

            "Yeah," Touma grumbled. "That's exactly what I thought. Unfortunately."

            Rowen just laughed.

**A/N: Okay, bad ending. Shut up. And Ryo probably would trust them, wouldn't he? Well, either way, this is how I wrote it, and this is how it's staying. ^-^**

**Okay, if you like this story, you _might_ want to read my other Ronin fics. If you do, visit my site (that's on my profile…can't put the link in here cuz ff.net is EVIL), go to Words of Wisdom, and then to the R Files page. That has my two fics on it…and links to my rather tentative character guides for my OCs. Um…the only reason they're not on ff.net yet is because I don't have titles or summaries for either of them. ^^; So…yeah. That's it.**

**Except. *squeals* I got my speakers working again! This means I can listen to music! Which means I can re-download the YST songs and actually hear them! Yay!!!!! Ahem. Anyway. Onwards.**

**Thanks to:**

Nell-** Yeah, yeah.**

Harry2- **Er…I'll try to find some more…. I doubt I'll be able to, though.**

AnimegirlH

**Uh…where'd they all go? ^^;**


	15. In Which There is No Title

**Disclaimer: Hn.**

**Warnings: Nothing, really.**

**A/N: Sorry about the lack of update last week. I totally forgot. ^^; So I decided to put the chapter up now…before I forget again.**

Chapter Fifteen:

            The weary group had finally finished their hearty meal and now busied themselves in reclining to each's personal satisfaction. Denice's silent entrance did nothing to disturb their relaxed peace. The Ronins had apparently forgotten their former suspicion of the Warlords and Masho. Everyone seemed grateful for this chance to rest up and save their energy for the search for Tobraea's warrior-men. Only Anubis and Shuten Doji acted restless.

            Not even noticing her absence, everyone was surprised when Amanda walked hurriedly into the room.

            Denice glared at her. "You were supposed to be resting like everyone else!"

            Amanda, her still present wings twitching in annoyance, retorted with an "I did!" before exclaiming: "Tobraea's alive!" to the rest of the room.

            After a stunned pause, all the warriors began talking at once.

            Amanda's frustration increased as the minutes passed until finally she grabbed her staff and threw it angrily at the tall windows at the room's end. The shattering of glass brought on another silence.

            Quivering with impatience, she picked up her staff again and leaned heavily on it before speaking.

            "He's coming this way. We need to prepare. Everyone should wait outside the castle, armed and ready to attack. We'll use this as a fallback in case things go bad."

            "But…but how—"

            She didn't let Dais finish. "I don't know how. All I know is that I felt an approaching danger. When I scouted out the area from the sky, I saw a great fire from the direction of Denice's clan's castle. It has to be him. His warriors wouldn't have returned without him."

            "But—" Dais attempted again.

            "He's coming here, I know it. Somehow he survived Kino's magic, and he's coming back to finish us off."

            Kay nodded in sync with her Japanese twin.

            "Let's go," Kayura broke in, "and defeat him one last time. This has gone on long enough. And now we have the Anubis' to help us."

            As everyone rose and rushed off to gather their orbs and weapons, Denice caught up to Amanda.

            "Wait." She said, placing a hand on her twin's shoulder. "I remember something that Tobraea said in the castle when I pretended to join him."

            The white-winged girl frowned. "What?"

            "Well, he said that the Ronins and Troopers are the only ones that can truly destroy him."

            Amanda's eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you tell us this before now?"

            The demoness winced. "I must have forgotten."

            Amanda sighed. "We'll have to tell the Anubis' and Warlords to concentrate on Tobraea's warriors, so the others can go for him."

            "It's a shame, isn't it."

            "What?" Amanda looked at her.

            That evil always has a weakness. Denice snatched back the thought before she spoke it out loud.

            "Ahh…" she stuttered, "That I'm getting to be like Sekhmet, forgetting important details."

            Amanda looked at her strangely before turning to walk to the front of the castle with the others.

            Denice shook her head. What had gotten into her? She really didn't want Tobraea and his evil demons to win, did she?

            Outside, the warriors stood anxiously awaiting their enemies' arrival. An hour passed slowly.

            With every minute, Amanda began to feel more and more uncomfortable. For the fifth time, she took to the air in hopes of seeing Tobraea coming towards them. Nothing.

            Everyone's nerves were on edge and, other than Cale's pacing, all was still. Some of them would start muttering only to be hushed by a glare from another one. Finally, Kayura stood up.

            "I can't take any more of this. Maybe you were wrong," she said, looking at Amanda.

            Amanda said nothing, staring out into the distance.

            "Maybe it was another clan or an illusion or…anything. He's not coming. He's dead." Kayura spoke with finality.

            "No, he's alive. I feel his presence too. Think about it. He has every advantage by waiting us out. He knows that the Anubis' will soon be unable to help us."

            Slowly, Kayura nodded.

            "I thought they would have…left by now."

            Denice shrugged, looking at the resurrected warriors.

            "Let's wait a little longer," Denice said decidedly. "And Cale, stop your pacing! It's driving me crazy."

            By the time darkness had fallen, the group had decided to search for Tobraea, beginning with the castle he had previously inhabited.

            Other than some scorched ground in the front of the castle, it appeared untouched. Denice verified its emptiness after a brief search.

            "He's moved on. He wants us to play this cat and mouse game until he has us right where he wants us," she declared.

            "So…let's give him what he wants."

            Everyone turned to stare at Sekhmet in astonishment.

            "Let's hide the Anubis' and pretend that they're gone. Then we'll have a 'cavalry' ready when we need it. We can catch ol' Tobraea and his gang by surprise."

            Their gaping mouths made Sekhmet chuckle.

            "Twice in less than three days. Sekhmet's turning into the boy-genius wonder. Be afraid. Be very afraid," Cale muttered, shaking his head.

            Some minutes later, everyone was once again waiting. Amanda had lit up the sky with a brilliant blast of light that lasted over ten seconds. In that time, the Anubis' had hidden themselves nearby. Hoping that Tobraea was seeing their little "drama production," they had loudly exclaimed at the two warriors' disappearances—with one hand on their weapons, of course. Still, the dark lord had not come.

            "I'm bored," Sekhmet announced in desperation, hoping that someone would do something interesting.

            The rest only rolled their eyes.

            "Anyone have a Frisbee?" the green-haired boy asked with a childish grin.

            Dais laughed and Cale shook his head. Amanda frowned at them, causing Cale to hiss for Sekhmet to shut up on pain of death.

            Another half hour passed by.

            Man, I never thought I would be glad to see Tobraea's ugly face again, thought Sekhmet with a sigh. Naaza smiled at him, guessing his thoughts.

            Suddenly, the sky lit up rd and a smoldering heat fell on the group.

            "Oh! What?" Similar exclamations flew in their surprise.

            "I hate the heat!" Amanda wailed in remorse.

            "Well, I can fix that," Cale said with a smile, sweat dripping down his face.

            Suddenly, it began to snow. The icy flakes barely touched the ground before melting. A puddle slowly grew around them.

            "What the—"

            "Relax, Strata. It's Cale's doing," Dais explained to the perturbed boy staring confusedly at the falling snow.

            "Very cute, but obviously you can't take the heat!" With the voice that they all recognized too well by now, came a blast of fire heading straight for them.

            "Look out!" Denice yelled, pushing away everyone around her. The fireball sizzled on the ground they had just been standing on, quenching the water and destroying the snow.

            "Cool that!" Tobraea screamed. He stood before them, flames burning at his feet, his eyes red with hate. His once pale skin was no charred and horribly burnt; the smoke around him choked their throats and made them cough. "The cat-wizard's magic has made me even stronger! My powers are invisible! I have passed through the fire, and I have won!" Flames sprouted from his fingertips, pushing them back further.

            With a battle cry, Denice leapt forward, flanked by Rowen and Ryo. The demon warriors met their weapons, and the final fight began. Fireballs shot between them, singeing them and blackening the ground.

            At last when Dais thought they could hold out no longer, the Anubis' appeared and began slashing at the demons with strong, powerful thrusts.

            As planned, the Ronins and Troopers rushed towards Tobraea at Ryo's yells, and attempted to end it. But no matter how hard they tried or how close they came, the demon lord would not be defeated.

            Knocked to the ground, Rowen of Strata watched as each of his friends desperately tried to reach Tobraea before being pushed back by a stream of deadly-hot fire.

            "Retreat! Fall back!" he heard Denice scream.

            Throwing aside Touma's hand, he jumped to his feet.

            "No! Don't retreat! Together, we must take him together!" Surprisingly he saw, or rather sensed, that the others had stopped and were following his lead. As one, they charged toward Tobraea, a dark silhouette wreathed in flame against the crimson sky. At the same time, all of their weapons pierced him, cutting bone and flesh. Dark smoke blew over them all. Was it all over? Had they finally destroyed Tobraea?

            Rowen felt a great weight fall on him as he closed his eyes and knew no more.

**A/N: Look! Rowen got hurt! Again! Haha, we seem to love torturing this guy for some reason. I can't help it, though…it's just so much fun! Um…Epilogue next week, and stay tuned for the sequel. You should get any and all unanswered questions popping up in there. Be warned…I'm only at the beginning of chapter nine right now and there's no telling how long it will be. So you might have to wait a fairly long time for the sequel.**

**Thanks to:**

AnimegirlH- **Of course Kino lives! I like him too. ^-^ And…um, well…I think Amanda rather rushed through this last chapter. Oh well.**

WildfireDreams

Harry2- **Half working. It's only half working. End of the chapter? Well…truth be told, the ends of my chapters usually come when I just don't feel like writing anymore. That happens more often than you'd think. Which is why a lot of my endings of chapters suck, really…. But oh well. Um…hope Godzilla's having fun! Good thing he left, really…I think all of the narrators heard what we did to the last one and are avoiding me. ;-;**

Nell- **…Are you ever going to stop listening to that song? And…um…wow. Poor Remie cub. Stalking the president? In hopes of killing him, I assume. But it's a good thing you saved him.**


	16. In Which it Ends

**Disclaimer: Sunrise. 'Nuff said.**

**Warnings: It's over! *sniffles* oh…and I wasn't feeling well when I wrote this, so it isn't that good….**

A/N: And now begins the last part of _Merging Worlds_. Go on, cry, I know you want to. ^_~ Seriously, though, this is the epilogue…the finale, the end, etc.. Oh, I forgot to put Amanda in when I was writing it. ^^; But I'm not writing it again, so….

Gah! I keep forgetting to put this thing up! -_- So sorry, everyone. By the way, I'm working on chapter nine of the sequel now, but don't expect it to come too soon—I've got an "upper respiratory infection" (went to the doctor's), and now the medicine's made my mind go all wonky. Quite annoying, really, especially when I keep going and babbling on inane topics. And I can see I'm about to do that now, so I'll just shut up. ^^;

Epilogue 

Rowen's eyes slowly opened. The first thing he saw was a pair of bright red eyes staring straight into his.

            "Hey," he said tiredly.

            "Welcome back to the land of the living," Denice returned immediately. "Did you have a good tour of heaven?"

            "I had a wonderful time," Rowen returned. "The only problem was that you weren't there."

            Denice blushed furiously in response, and Rowen immediately found himself laughing.

            "How long have I been out?" he asked eventually.

            "A couple hours. Anubis and Shuten disappeared a few minutes ago."

            "I see."

            The two fell silent, simply taking the time to enjoy each other's company. However, the silence was soon broken by an enraged shout in a voice that sounded like Dais'.

            "CALE!"

            "I'm not getting it!"

            "Yes you _are_ getting it!"

            "But I got it last time!"

            "That's because you _lost_ it last time!"

            "But it's not fair that I have to keep getting it!"

            "Yes it is!"

            "No it isn't! Why don't _you_ go get it?"

            "I am never _ever_ getting something you lose again!"

            "_Shut up!_" a new voice, Ryo's this time, finally snapped. "_I'll_ go get it!" A loud roar soon followed.

            "Er…," Rowen said uncertainly.

            "They're playing Frisbee," Denice replied in a very matter-of-fact way, as if Rowen should have been used to hearing the ex-Warlords argue like children. "That's the fifth time in the past half an hour that Cale's lost a Frisbee."

            "Ah. And the roar?"

            "White Blaze. Kayura went to the Mortal Realm to get him, at Ryo's insistence."

            "They haven't gone home yet?" Rowen was surprised.

            "No. They decided to wait for you instead."

            "Oh."

            Silence again. For a few minutes, nothing could be heard except the sound of the others outside. When Denice suddenly got to her feet and walked to the open window, her soft footsteps seemed to snap Rowen out of a trance.

            "It's not over yet, is it?" he asked softly. Denice's sigh told him everything he needed to know. "How long do you think they'll stay away?"

            "I don't know."

            "Rowen sighed, and then stiffly stood. His entire body ached, but he knew he couldn't lay in bed forever. He walked over to Denice and wrapped his arms around her still-armored waist.

            "We should go down there," he murmured, staring down at the people playing Frisbee.

            "Not yet," Denice replied as she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. Then she added, "Maybe not ever."

            "Any idea when Rowen will waked up?" Kento asked the assembled Ronins and Troopers grumpily. "Man, I want to go home!"

            "Calm down, Kento," Cye admonished him gently. "Rowen's been through a lot."

            "Not enough for him to be unconscious _this_ long," Sage grumbled. "I hope he's all right."

            "I'm sure he's fine," Touma chuckled. All eyes turned to him, and he pointed wordlessly up at an open window in the castle.

            "I hope he knows what he's getting into," Seiji murmured, frowning thoughtfully. "This relationship may be very hard on him. Not only does he live in your Mortal Realm, but he will not live nearly as long as Denice. Amanda did tell Cale she was immortal. It only stands to reason that Denice is as well."

            "Maybe Rowen can become immortal as well," Shu suggested. "I mean to say, the Masho are, why would it be any different for him?"

            "But then he'd have to choose between us and Denice," Cye pointed out. "I'm not entirely sure he'll be able to make _that_ decision."

            "Let's all do it!" Kento suggested brightly. "That way when the rest of Tobraea's gang comes after us, it'll _definitely_ be us fighting!"

            "And nobody else would be forced into these armors like we were," Sage added. "I think that's the best idea you've had yet, Kento."

            "Then it's settled," Ryo said suddenly, finally adding his thoughts to the conversation. "If Rowen agrees, that's our plan of action."

            "So we'll be stuck with an eternity of fighting wars," Cye sighed, rolling his orb in the palm of his hand. "Anything else that will make us eternally miserable?"

            "Living with the Warlords," Sage returned dryly.

            Almost as if to prove his point, the sound of Sekhmet's insane giggling was suddenly heard, accompanied by Dais' screaming.

            "SEKHMET! YOU DID THAT ON _PURPOSE_!"

OWARI 

**A/N: Fwee! The story doth endeth! …Sorry, that was the medicine talking. I hope we'll get the sequel coming soon—but don't get your hopes up. Keep your eyes peeled, though, I might start putting my WIPs up instead of waiting until I'm done them like I planned!**

**Thanks to:**

WildfireDreams- **Good choice.  ^_~**

Harry2- **Yes, well, Sekhy rules. It's his job to make you do double takes, haven't you noticed? *looks around in search of announcers, holding a leash with a dragon named Rufus at the end* Yeah, let them come. See how _they_ like fire.**

AnimegirlH- **Gone for good? This guy's like the Energizer Bunny—he just keeps going and going and going and going and going. *snickers* Sorry, had to throw in that little joke. You'll see what happens come the sequel! …Whenever the sequel might come, that is.**


End file.
